When left to himself, bear does dress himself well. He has very clear views about what he likes to wear. He likes shirts and not t-shirts, he prefers jackets to sweaters and loves waistcoats.
On Boxing Day I wandered into Matalan for the sale and bought bear some clothes for him to grow into next autumn, including the coat I am planning him to wear next winter. It is lovely, waterproof, well padded and £10. There wasn't much else there but I picked up a couple of shirts and a pack of three t-shirts as bear has grown out of all of his.
I need to find a better place to stash stuff for later. Bear is currently wearing the red and black checked shirt I bought for next year together with the black cargo pants that were half price in Morrisons on 29th December but the right size and a tie that came with the outfit he got for the school disco. He looks sharp, and he put the outfit together himself. The shirt is a bit big, but less than you would think and looks pretty good on him. It will be in rags by the time he fits into it properly. Mind you, I don't think bear has ever had to wear clothes too small in his life - he is blessed, and I know it if he doesn't.
He could probably do with another pair of jeans, which I will hold off on for as long as possible, and possibly a shirt in his current size but I'll hold fire on that as well. What I will shop for on ebay is a summer jacket for him. He has just gone to visit his auntie and is wearing a leather look bomber jacket that is padded and looks pretty good on him (though I am a doting mum and I am biased). That jacket is looking a bit small, and I think the best time to pick up a summer jacket for him will be when people are clearing out their wardrobes after New Year's Resolutions and I may pick up a bargain then. I am definitely holding out for a bargain! He doesn't need a rain jacket as last year's will do him, but a denim/leather look/canvas/slightly padded or lined type thing good for cool late spring, early autumn or foul weather in summer would be helpful. If I don't see a bargain I won't bother.
I'm not looking for me, I have a very nice jacket from last year. It should do me forever, really, and it is far more fun shopping for bear.
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Friday, 3 January 2014
Welcome to January
The car has broken down. We have just taken out an insurance that may cover repairs, but Nice Mr Next Door hasn't updated the thingy with a stamp to say it has been properly serviced - is it a logbook? I have no idea. This may stop us claiming.
It was quite scary, we were about to turn into the cinema car park and suddenly there was all this steam billowing out of the bonnet. Apparently a hose of some sort has gone, or possibly a gasket. I could cry.
I just want to hide away from the escalating bills. Bear's party is coming up, and that has been factored in to what I expect, but not a garage bill. We have savings, but they are going down and not up. It almost certainly looks like we will not be able to get over to visit uncle and he is crying and saying his family aren't caring. It doesn't help that he can't remember the visits we have made.
Moving on from the pity party, the cake is here and is amazing.
It was quite scary, we were about to turn into the cinema car park and suddenly there was all this steam billowing out of the bonnet. Apparently a hose of some sort has gone, or possibly a gasket. I could cry.
I just want to hide away from the escalating bills. Bear's party is coming up, and that has been factored in to what I expect, but not a garage bill. We have savings, but they are going down and not up. It almost certainly looks like we will not be able to get over to visit uncle and he is crying and saying his family aren't caring. It doesn't help that he can't remember the visits we have made.
Moving on from the pity party, the cake is here and is amazing.
I just have the party bags to worry about, and that's all under control. I just wish I could visit uncle. To be fair, it was looking difficult before the car broke down. I'll just have to see what else I can do.
Weetabix
My kitchen is full of food, really, really full. Part of the problem is that the cupboards are very damp so I am careful what I put in there but actually in the aftermath of Christmas there are heaps and piles and stacks of food. I got a vast Approved Food order, apparently I saved just over £297 (cost £66 something) and the kitchen is piled with breadsticks and jaffa cakes. It won't go to waste but it may take a while to use up. This isn't a bad thing.
I have just ordered a pack of meat from Market Delivered. I am a bit worried about this, actually. I really need to think about stuff before I press 'buy'. I am getting 2lb mince, 2lb pork chops 11/2lb of braising steak, 2lb joint of silverside (lovely in the slow cooker), 4 chicken legs and 4 burgers for £30 and I would expect to get 9 from that. The link is here.
I have fish coming on the same order. The fishmongers on the same site do a very nice natural smoked haddock that goes lovely in kedgeree. It isn't inexpensive, but it is lovely. That will be used up on the day of delivery.
The problem is that my freezer is also full, very, very full. I am hoping against hope that I'll be able to squeeze it all in. Irritatingly the freezer is full of stuff that is there to fall back on - one of the best uses of the freezer. There is frozen veg, some burgers I can cook from frozen and fishfingers. I would utterly fail without fishfingers. There is also box after box of frozen pizza. This is from the time bear was taking a packed lunch and was condescending to eat cold pizza slices. Now he is on school dinners (and staying there as long as I can convince him) they are not likely to get eaten apart from an occasional after school snack. I can't eat them, DH can't eat them and father isn't keen. They are being used up for bear's birthday party but that isn't until after the meat delivery and so I am going to have to cram it all in to the freezer and hope for the best.
This morning DH asked bear about breakfast. I could have cried. The kitchen is groaning at the seams and for the first time in eighteen months he asks for rice krispies. We haven't got any. How about cornflakes? We are out of those as well, as bear hasn't touched them throughout 2013. Bear did his best impression of a deprived orphan. How about weetabix? He had the last weetabix in the house. At least it was comparatively healthy.
I keep failing in bear's provisioning. I find myself asking questions like, 'what do you mean, you want ginger biscuits? We never have ginger biscuits? When did you actually eat a ginger biscuit? And what do you mean that the cheese isn't like when you visit my brother - it's exactly the same in a different location."
Bear is going to remember growing up in a house where there was never any food in.
I have just ordered a pack of meat from Market Delivered. I am a bit worried about this, actually. I really need to think about stuff before I press 'buy'. I am getting 2lb mince, 2lb pork chops 11/2lb of braising steak, 2lb joint of silverside (lovely in the slow cooker), 4 chicken legs and 4 burgers for £30 and I would expect to get 9 from that. The link is here.
I have fish coming on the same order. The fishmongers on the same site do a very nice natural smoked haddock that goes lovely in kedgeree. It isn't inexpensive, but it is lovely. That will be used up on the day of delivery.
The problem is that my freezer is also full, very, very full. I am hoping against hope that I'll be able to squeeze it all in. Irritatingly the freezer is full of stuff that is there to fall back on - one of the best uses of the freezer. There is frozen veg, some burgers I can cook from frozen and fishfingers. I would utterly fail without fishfingers. There is also box after box of frozen pizza. This is from the time bear was taking a packed lunch and was condescending to eat cold pizza slices. Now he is on school dinners (and staying there as long as I can convince him) they are not likely to get eaten apart from an occasional after school snack. I can't eat them, DH can't eat them and father isn't keen. They are being used up for bear's birthday party but that isn't until after the meat delivery and so I am going to have to cram it all in to the freezer and hope for the best.
This morning DH asked bear about breakfast. I could have cried. The kitchen is groaning at the seams and for the first time in eighteen months he asks for rice krispies. We haven't got any. How about cornflakes? We are out of those as well, as bear hasn't touched them throughout 2013. Bear did his best impression of a deprived orphan. How about weetabix? He had the last weetabix in the house. At least it was comparatively healthy.
I keep failing in bear's provisioning. I find myself asking questions like, 'what do you mean, you want ginger biscuits? We never have ginger biscuits? When did you actually eat a ginger biscuit? And what do you mean that the cheese isn't like when you visit my brother - it's exactly the same in a different location."
Bear is going to remember growing up in a house where there was never any food in.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Bear has had a Christmas and a Birthday
'Ask and ye shall recieve' Matthew 7:7 - bear asked everyone for nerf guns and was devastated at the lack of response. He had made a list which I had scanned and emailed to Santa and he had researched it all on the internet and was very, very clear about in what order he would try them. He has spent ridiculous amounts of time watching nerf gun videos on YouTube and generally got very enthusiastic. He was quite cross that Santa hadn't paid attention to the list and is now working out how to get hold of the missing items. He also has a full satchel of ammo that he was testing at daft o'clock this morning.
He has carefully counted his pocket money and is planning an expedition to a toyshop - and bear normally regards shopping as unalloyed torture. To put it into context, here is the haul that he managed to acquire from indulgent parents, aunty, uncle and grandfather over Christmas, birthday and I think he had two before.
They are something of a step up since the toy guns when I was young which you pulled a trigger and they went 'clack' - if you were lucky. These are super dooper with bits and things and attachments and all the goodies to delight a young lad. I have no idea. I am sure I will learn. I am making bear wait for any more. He is getting a bit too spoiled.
He has carefully counted his pocket money and is planning an expedition to a toyshop - and bear normally regards shopping as unalloyed torture. To put it into context, here is the haul that he managed to acquire from indulgent parents, aunty, uncle and grandfather over Christmas, birthday and I think he had two before.
They are something of a step up since the toy guns when I was young which you pulled a trigger and they went 'clack' - if you were lucky. These are super dooper with bits and things and attachments and all the goodies to delight a young lad. I have no idea. I am sure I will learn. I am making bear wait for any more. He is getting a bit too spoiled.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Amaretto
Some kind soul gave father a bottle of Amaretto for Christmas. This is not his favourite tipple. He tries to stick to Famous Grouse, will drink as much Black Grouse as he can get his hands on and is quite keen on the Naked Grouse. He doesn't have a sweet tooth and he isn't keen on marzipan. Amaretto is a marzipan drink.
This gift has really affected father. First of all he can't bear the thought of alcohol going to waste. If he twigged to the half bottle of ginger vodka in the kitchen (epic fail by me, it is horrific and currently reserved for cleaning purposes) then he would want to see it drunk. He sees a full bottle as a challenge and a duty. I am exaggerating a little bit, but less than you would think. Besides, he is 82. I think he is old enough to know his limits.
The second problem is that he couldn't bring himself to drink liqueurs. Something sweet and 14% is really not him. He couldn't do it. However he knows I like sweeter drinks, and I do usually like the lower alcohol liqueurs to drink neat so this is obviously ideal for me to drink. He put the bottle pointedly next to my chair.
I am actually not much of a drinker. Before father came to live with us I would have a drink once or twice a year. When father moved in it climbed to me having a drink once or twice a month. The last month or so has seen it get worryingly close to once or twice a week and it isn't really me. Father found I liked Cointreau and on Christmas Day I had four bottles lined up for me. These have been moved out of the way and the bottle of Amaretto has been edged closer and closer. It is a full litre bottle as well, and it is starting to loom.
Father has also started to hint, asking whether I needed a glass, did I need a drink, this Amaretto looks nice... So last night, New Year's Eve, I started on the Amaretto.
The stuff is foul. It is far too sweet for me, and it feels like I have just eaten four boxes of marzipan fruits. I think I have overdosed on almonds. I managed far too much and woke up feeling like I had been mugged by the topping from a Christmas Cake while father and DH were still quite fresh despite the bottle of Black Grouse they shared.
I know that father will still want the bottle drunk and would be devastated if I didn't work my way through the syrupy stuff, but I think every night I will wait until father is nearly on his way to bed and pour myself a measure of the vile stuff as a nightcap. Then I can safely pour that measure down the sink and I hope it cleans the drains. The bottle can't last for ever.
Please let father not buy me a bottle for myself.
This gift has really affected father. First of all he can't bear the thought of alcohol going to waste. If he twigged to the half bottle of ginger vodka in the kitchen (epic fail by me, it is horrific and currently reserved for cleaning purposes) then he would want to see it drunk. He sees a full bottle as a challenge and a duty. I am exaggerating a little bit, but less than you would think. Besides, he is 82. I think he is old enough to know his limits.
The second problem is that he couldn't bring himself to drink liqueurs. Something sweet and 14% is really not him. He couldn't do it. However he knows I like sweeter drinks, and I do usually like the lower alcohol liqueurs to drink neat so this is obviously ideal for me to drink. He put the bottle pointedly next to my chair.
I am actually not much of a drinker. Before father came to live with us I would have a drink once or twice a year. When father moved in it climbed to me having a drink once or twice a month. The last month or so has seen it get worryingly close to once or twice a week and it isn't really me. Father found I liked Cointreau and on Christmas Day I had four bottles lined up for me. These have been moved out of the way and the bottle of Amaretto has been edged closer and closer. It is a full litre bottle as well, and it is starting to loom.
Father has also started to hint, asking whether I needed a glass, did I need a drink, this Amaretto looks nice... So last night, New Year's Eve, I started on the Amaretto.
The stuff is foul. It is far too sweet for me, and it feels like I have just eaten four boxes of marzipan fruits. I think I have overdosed on almonds. I managed far too much and woke up feeling like I had been mugged by the topping from a Christmas Cake while father and DH were still quite fresh despite the bottle of Black Grouse they shared.
I know that father will still want the bottle drunk and would be devastated if I didn't work my way through the syrupy stuff, but I think every night I will wait until father is nearly on his way to bed and pour myself a measure of the vile stuff as a nightcap. Then I can safely pour that measure down the sink and I hope it cleans the drains. The bottle can't last for ever.
Image from Aldi, the apparent source of the problem
Please let father not buy me a bottle for myself.
New Year, New Me?
It is going to be the same old Sybil crashing from housewifery to father to uncle with bear causing his usual charming trouble.
I am, however, going to work on the writing. So if you have read any of my books, and only if you like them, please recommend them. I am going to try and get a better book out. I am also going to try writing challenges (the writing equivalent of hitting the gym) and I will be posting regularly on Lyssa Medana's official blog, which is desperately neglected, Lyssa Medana's facebook page and Lyssa Medana's Twitter account.
All the housewifery will stay on here, and anything generally interesting will be posted here as well as other places. This blog will not be neglected, but it may get duplicated.
And I consider anyone reading this blog as being incredibly kind and paying me a wonderful compliment. This year, I hope, you will have plenty of fun things to read, some possibly useful ideas and no doubt a lot of ups and downs - as that is life. Thank you.
I am, however, going to work on the writing. So if you have read any of my books, and only if you like them, please recommend them. I am going to try and get a better book out. I am also going to try writing challenges (the writing equivalent of hitting the gym) and I will be posting regularly on Lyssa Medana's official blog, which is desperately neglected, Lyssa Medana's facebook page and Lyssa Medana's Twitter account.
All the housewifery will stay on here, and anything generally interesting will be posted here as well as other places. This blog will not be neglected, but it may get duplicated.
And I consider anyone reading this blog as being incredibly kind and paying me a wonderful compliment. This year, I hope, you will have plenty of fun things to read, some possibly useful ideas and no doubt a lot of ups and downs - as that is life. Thank you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I just want to say a Happy New Year to all those kind enough to read my blog and I wish you health, wealth and happiness. May 2014 be kind and gentle.
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