42...

a little bit younger

a little bit foolish

a little bit silly

a little bit older

a little bit wiser

a lot more silly

she is thinking there is no better way to spending her first day of being 42,

then with her soul sister ~ Tif

two visitors...

this week we have two visitors at the shed,

one who was invited and one who invited himself.

Mr Lurgy, the scoundrel and the rotter, has taken advantage of my open garage door.

i believe he snuck right past me when the second out of three customers to come to our garage sale distracted me.

we were in the middle of haggling.

it was quite intense...

i had $4 on the item, she wished to pay $2

Mr Lurgy seized the moment and boldly walked on past, through the laundry door and into Mossy Shed.

so far he has claimed 2 and a half victims.

2 being Our #3 and #4

the half being moi.

i have no time for Mr Lurgy this week and so i am playing hard to get.

the other visitor to the shed is one we are welcoming with open arms

my soul sister Debbie is packing up her little case and winging her way across the pond on wednesday.

cheers of 'hoorays' have echoed around the shed for several weeks since the grand news.

my children see Debbie as the perfect house guest.

she makes their mother laugh and smile

and

she makes fabulous dinners and pots of tea all day long.

best of all

after 10 years of visitors coming to stay from across the pond,

we now have a space for guests to rest their weary heads.

'tis a bitter sweet moment for me.

for on the one hand i am joyous not to be moving Our #3 out of his bed

onto the couch with Used dog,

but on the other hand the reason for the extra space is because Our #1 is no longer here

(which you all know but i just mentioned it again, just in case somebody new came to visit here today and was quite lost. my man read a few posts on friday night and actually advised me it was quite possible someone stumbling upon my blog would be clueless as to what i was writing about.

"after all Tif, i am and i live here"

this in turn made me wonder if i need to put on my sidebar, a guide for newcomers. photos of Miss Ethel, Mr Shark, Used dog etc)

after that 'thought for the day' let us return to the pressing news of spaces...

when we returned from Old Blighty,

Our #1 had left a few days prior to take up residence across the pond.

she left behind a smallish square room void of her,

except for a closet, which housed her belongings left behind.

despite what folks may imagine,

i have never been allowed over the threshold of my children's rooms with a doily.

i have respected this and in turn they have respected my doilies elsewhere in the shed.

mutual respect of such issues is a wonderful thing within a clan.

however, upon leaving to make her way into the world,

Our #1 gave me the 'a-okay' to dottie angel her empty room.

so over the weekend, whilst allowing Mr Lurgy only half of myself

i went about making Our #1's room into a place for Debbie to stay when she arrives on wednesday.

it was a little odd and i was quite grateful for Mr Lurgy distracting me,

giving me no energy to sit and ponder the situation.

despite it looking so very different from when she lived in the space,

except the 30 year old carpet, which is yet to be tackled.

Our #1, upon seeing the photos, exclaimed she liked it

and would be most happy to stay in her old/new room when she returns for Christmas.

i am thinking that maybe just sweet talk for her mama,

but i am most happy to accept it.

she has counted 14 weeks until Christmas and thinking that doesn't sound too far away at all ~ Tif

the irony of it...

last week my iron of 10 years gave up the ghost.

since he departed this world i have come to realize his value.

i only ever use an iron when i am making things.

i see now i was a fool not to give my iron a name.

for indeed in hindsight, his value was equal to that of Miss Ethel...

i am actually rather teary thinking about my little iron now,

how for many years he did his job without complaint,

knowing others around him had names of affection

and yet he was known simply as 'the iron'.

needing my little bits of fabrics to sit flat

i headed to the thrift store to see what i could see.

as i was on a mission, i had no time to listen to the weight of my heart.

knowing i was to step through the thrift store door without Our #1 by my side

was something i was not prepared to linger on.

with 'a hoppity and a skippity' i was over the threshold

and transported into 'hunt mode'.

unfortunately the irons laid out upon the shelves of despair,

were indeed a despairing lot.

i picked them all up individually, peering at their bottoms

and twiddling with their bits.

one after the other, i replaced them with a sigh.

i returned to the shed empty handed and a little fretful.

after all, i was deep in 'making wares for the shop' mode

(obviously it would appear last week i was in quite the mode)

just taking a breather from beavering away on making stock for the shop,

could spell disaster for moi.

Mr Procrastinator, whom lurks in cupboards and around corners in the shed,

well he sees these moments and pounces when i am at my most vulnerable.

to avoid arousing suspicion from Mr Procrastinator, thinking i had weakened,

i said in a loud voice

"no worries Tif, i have a cunning plan... tra la la la" in a rather over the top squeaky sort of way.

i heard him sigh and step back to the shadows.

then continued a conversation inside my head with the little voice.

"so" said the little voice "what you gonna do Tif, after all you cannot buy a new iron"

i pondered my response

"well technically little voice you are wrong. for it is most clear since 'the iron' passed onto a better life, that he is a tool of my trade, a well needed little fellow that without, i am unable to make hand crafted goodness"

the little voice gasped, quite taken a back by my cleverness

"true, true... but still does it not make you feel like you have let yourself down"

oh! that little voice is so good at what he does.

the next day i spoke to my man,

and this dearest readers is where the 'irony' of the whole matter comes into play

(actually do you like how the word 'irony' is used in a tale about irons, i like that very much, it actually is the kind of thing to make me smile)

for many, you will already know the tale, others perhaps not.

nearly two years ago, i turned the big 4-0.

i will admit it was a struggle for me,

for i was not supposed to get to 40 as quickly as i did.

however the struggle was made worse for moi

by the gift of a panini maker from my man.

now some may think me most ungrateful

but as i am totally crappity crap in the kitchen

i found to be gifted a kitchen gadget for turning 40

by someone who had 24 years to ponder his gift

was a little unfortunate.

the situation made a little worse by finding the receipt

and noting it had been purchased the day before.

however i can say no more, for there is closure on the issue.

actually before i say no more, can i just say,

not a day goes by when the panini maker isn't topic for conversation within the shed.

it has become the most loved piece of kitchen gadgetry we have...

Our #4 always asks "but surely mum after all this time,

you can see what a great gift it was?"

hoping one day i will cave and say "yes it was lovely wasn't it"

but i stand my ground and i stay strong,

advising him as only a mother to a son can do

"dearest child of mine, when you have been married for umpteen years

to the love of your life, do not be foolish enough to think a gift for the kitchen

is a gift worth giving.

whether you understand the wisdom of my words or not, is immaterial.

just heed them and heed them well"

roll on nearly two years and here i am talking to my man,

with the words 'the irony of it' going around and around my head.

"soooo" i began "you know my birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks"

to which he looked a little frightened.

i continued

"thing is, i know i gave you a really hard time over the panini maker but i have a situation here,

a situation that is causing me untold strife"

by now, i had his attention

"i was wondering if you may care to buy me a new iron and perhaps even better still, could i have it as an early birthday gift" i finished in a flourish and 'pretty please' grin

i have not seen the light in my man's eyes look quite so sparkly in quite the while.

i could see the cogs turning through them,

i could tell his little voice inside was chuckling at the irony of the situation.

here was his wife, whom declared with great voice

he was never ever to give her a household appliance for her birthday again,

was now requesting an iron for her 42nd birthday.

with that, he picked up the car keys,

drove me to the store,

stood for nearly an hour going through each iron on display,

discussing the merits and the disadvantages of each

whilst i pointed out the ones that would not do, due to their color.

after much debating,

i came to the conclusion the only one up for the job was The Shark.

my man kindly took The Shark to the till,

paid for him

and

drove us both home

promptly announcing when inside the shed,

with big grin on his face and sparkly stuff still in his eyes

"Tif, as it is nearly your birthday and i know you cannot do what you do without an iron,

i thought it quite nice if i gave you your gift early"

where upon he presented me with The Shark.

in the week that has past i have dallied with Mr Shark (his mossy shed name)

for quite a few hours.

he steams like i have never seen an iron steam before,

and he is a heavy weight for sure, causing me to pause between presses.

Our #2 when seeing his hunky silvery good looks exclaimed

"blimey mum, is your iron on steroids!"

to which i quipped

"no, but i may have to start myself, if i am to lift him everyday"

she is thanking you all so very kindly for the grand reception you gave her bigger than big news ~ Tif

it's the silly things...

yesterday i was greatly inspired at dinner time by the latest fabric love in my life,

found as a 'pair of curtains' in a wonderful retro granny chic store in Rye, (Kent) England.

the store was called 'new 2 you retro' and the inside, filled to the rafters with vintage and retro goodness.

everything reminded me of grannies in the most perfectly perfect way,

indeed Debbie, my soul sister and i would have quite happily moved in

i have just had to pause from my tale and switch the radio off,

i am listening as always to Radio 2,

at the moment it is a long programme about the history of the Bee Gees

and i cannot for the life of me tippity tap when i have 'Jive Talking' going on at full blast....

the funny thing about listening to Radio 2 Live is i am 8 hours behind,

so quite often i am listening to the night time shows or early morning programmes.

i know what the weather forecast will be for the majority,

i know who has got up to what in the news

and most importantly of all,

i know which roads to avoid due to roadworks and traffic hold ups.

all of which, some may think, are completely useless for moi living on this side of the pond...

however in a nice warm fuzzy way it keeps me connected to my home country, my family

and of course, now Our #1

which is where i was going with the old curtain story before the Bee Gees interrupted...

so my lovely 'faded around the edge' curtains came back on the plane with me

and after a few happy hours spent with Miss Ethel

(all in the name of sanity i might add, notching up 8 weeks or more of school holidays, one does need to find the odd bit of sanity that still remains)

i had myself two rather lovely 'going into fall' retro cushions for the lounge.

under the influence of my cushions i turned my crafty attention from Miss Ethel,

towards the kitchen and dinner.

i worked carefully with my usual palette of orange but added a little extra with brown and yellow,

thus showing my newly made cushions how much i loved their retro peachiness.

after a short while of pottering around

doing just fine and dandy,

the gravy was the brown,

the leftover turkey meat, a shade of something similar in tone,

and then the yorkshire puds adding a lovely sandy yellow to the mix.

i started on the orange ingredient

and that is where i came undone...

until that moment i had tucked my little bit of sadness away deep inside,

feeling most proud of my stiff upper lip and 'carrying on' resolve

but the blimen' carrots had to go and weaken my emotional brick wall,

and despite trying my terribly best,

the flood waters came rushing through for the first time since Our #1 left the shed behind

and headed off to the bright lights of old blighty to live.

how could a humble silly little carrot cause such distress i am thinking you are wondering,

it's a silly thing really, but it always is the silly things.

Our #1 eats carrots every day,

any given day i would find her in the kitchen peeling and chomping on raw carrots,

other days she would happily make a whole mountain of grated carrots to bake a carrot cake for tea.

and without fail,

whenever i made turkey in gravy she always chopped the carrots into lovely chunks to pop in the pot,

always with a tale to tell

and always with a smile on her face...

yesterday whilst chopping the carrots into chunks

i noted there was not a tale being told to me,

nor a smiling face looking back at me,

just an empty space

and the sound of my own sadness.

today as i tippity tap about my carrot moment

i am wondering, if a carrot can set off such a tidal wave of tears,

then how on earth will i be able to go thrifting again,

knowing my thrifty buddy is no longer by my side.

she is thinking carrots maybe off the menu for a while at mossy shed ~ Tif

silly in the city...

i was distracted this morning by a moth

whilst choosing my appropriate attire for our 'two thirds of a family trip' into Seattle.

i am quite sure i am not the only one to feel faint at the sight of a moth fluttering out of one's summer frocks.

i know he has a brother, a sister and several cousins enjoying the party too.

at the time of the sighting

i was unable to delve deeper into my closet to break the party up,

therefore i chose a frock

and pretended the whole unnerving event never happened.

i told myself better to be in denial,

for a moth is not a welcome house guest to a crafter...

all of this unnerving took time away from me looking in the mirror,

if i had done so, i may well have been aware that my knees were showing.

my knees rarely see the light of day,

but today my silly knees did and as it turns out my knees fitted the occasion pefectly.

for indeed we spent four hours in Seattle being rather silly

and on our return we remarked on just how lovely it is to sometimes take timeout to be

a little silly in the city...

she is wishing you a lovely weekend full of silliness ~ Tif

time to let go...

Our #1 arrives back at the shed late tonight,

she cut her vacation short so we could have a few extra peachy days together.

i am tres excited to know i have been given five extra days of us living together at mossy shed.

on friday she is taking me out to see 'her seattle',

from taking the bus into the city,

to the places she likes to visit

i will see it through her eyes.

before she left for the east coast over a week ago

we thrift store frequented like never before.

going to all our favorite ones,

reminiscing about our besty best finds

and both agreeing that thrifting will never be quite the same

without our thrifty buddy by our sides.

as i am tippity tapping this, she has just called from the airport,

waiting for her flight to say

"i have had such good luck mum and i had to call and tell you.

first i found $3 on the ground,

then everyone was really stressed out at the airport desk,

so i told the man not to worry i would come back with my question later.

but he said go ahead, so i asked him if i could change my middle seat out

and he said yes, as i asked so nicely.

then just now i was sitting on the floor reading

and a nice lady comes up and offers me her coupon for a free salad

as she was not going to use it!

so you see, i had to call and tell you mum,

because you are right after all,

i do have good luck, i just have to look for it every now and then.

anyhow got to go, catching my flight soon, i love you"

and i know it will be the same,

when she lives on one continent and i on another.

she will still be wanting to share things with me,

tell me regular everyday stuff.

it may take a little bit of creativity due to time differences

and her college life

but it will be okay in the end...

and the silver lining that keeps the clouds away,

ten years on from leaving old blighty and my family,

i am sending back a piece of me in the way of Our #1

she is thinking as any mother would, it is a wonderful gift to give ~ Tif

sorted...

"look on the bright side mum"

Our #4 said upon leaving the doctors office this morning after what appeared to be the longest wait in all my waiting history to date.

"it could have been a whole lot worse, it could have been my leg, now imagine getting on an airplane with a broken leg?" he smiled

after which he proceeded to sing 'always look on the bright side of life' from monty python all the way home.

and indeed, on thinking about his bright side of things, i see we are most fortunate to be heading to old blighty with only his right hand in a cast.

she thinks it quite obvious why she rarely asks to take her child's photo ~ Tif

thwarted by a thumb...

i had grand plans today to spend a little quality time with Miss Ethel

and then to pop on over here so i may tell about my lovely saturday morning.

but alas as per usual, my plans have been thwarted.

yes indeedy,

Thwarted with a capital 'T'

i am without doubt, you just sucked in your breath and let it go slowly,

your clans within your own nests turning to enquire as to what could have caused such a sharp intake of breath.

to which you reply

"must be big, must be something going down in mossy shed, for Tif has not only used the word thwarted but she has capitalized it!"

yes indeed dearest readers, a sharp intake of breath

and slight faintness at my capital 'T' did not go amiss in mossy shed.

let me enlighten you to the fact

i have been thwarted in my plans to stitch up a storm with Miss Ethel,

by a broken right thumb...

before you perhaps become too distraught on my behalf,

i must tell you, the thumb in question does not belong to moi.

the thumb that has thwarted my studio time

belongs to none other than Our #4.

the terrible mishap to befall his thumb happened late last night,

in the dark,

playing soccer in the back yard,

as boys are apt to do on long summer evenings.

earlier today he mentioned that perhaps his thumb was not behaving as it should.

on close inspection i felt a little queasy and i must confess a little guilty.

a trip to the doctors confirmed his thumb will be out of action for quite some time

i have rustled around in the kitchen drawer for my florence nightingale hat,

which is quite good really as i have had no chance to wash my hair

and voila! i now have the perfect disguise for my lanky locks.

i think right there, we can see every cloud does indeed have a silver lining.

and as if that silver lining were not enough to make me get over my thwarted 'fling' with Miss Ethel, i have another to think about...

all the waiting in various waiting rooms

which will continue tomorrow when we see the specialist

and not to mention

the sitting by his side in my florence hat making well meaning conversation,

fetching and carrying when needed

means i get to spend quality time with Mr Hook.

of course, as i tippity tap all my positive silver linings to what is quite a crappity crap turn of events for Our #4

a thought has suddenly dawned on me.

how on earth in the coming weeks, will he be able to keep his toenails squeaky clean with his newly found bookmark cleaning skills when his 'doing hand' is out of action?

she is off to study the small print in her florence nightingale contract ~ Tif

a couple of notes...

note number one:

i noted upon Our #4's return to the shed that a rather iffy 'whiff' returned with him.

this did not surprise me in anyway.

a boy of 12 at summer camp for a whole 8 days should indeed return home with a 'cloud of pigpen' following behind.

his 'whiff' told me he had the best time there was to have...

it also told me to tell him

"okay, much as i have missed you, i cannot talk nor look at you, until you have been in the bath"

a few minutes later he emerged, sparkling in some places and not so in others.

i noted his hair had not seen the shampoo

and when i glanced down, i visibly gasped at his toenails.

"never in all my born days have i seen so much yuck crammed under ten toenails, seriously could you not have sorted them in the bath?"

"nope" he replied, seeing nothing wrong with the thick brown line of crud under each of his ten toenails "we don't have a nail brush"

"not true" said i "it is somewhere lurking in the bathroom and i suggest buddy you find it pronto".

two days later,

Our #4 and myself are sitting in traffic on our way to soccer practice.

he turns to me, with 'thee' smile upon his face,

you know the smile that melts a mother's heart and

yet she knows what follows is not always what she wishes to hear.

"so i cleaned my toenails like you said" he beamed

"ahh, so you found the nail brush then?" i asked foolishly

"oh no, i used a bookmark i found, not my favorite one which is my green eggs and ham one. no i used the one ma and pa gave me for Christmas... it worked a treat" he beamed even more 'beamier' than before.

i left it there, for indeed he had made what was for me a tough day, melt away...

i was filled with warmt for my child, for all the little funny things he has done over the years.

reminding me once again, on a day when i had 'lost my rag' several times, why i am most fortunate to be a mother.

i did not wish to enquire where he was when he unearthed the goings on from under his toenails.

i decided somethings are much better left unknown

note number 2:

for reasons i cannot say at this momento,

i am working on getting a few action shots of moi in the shed...

this is not easy for me, for i am a cousin of flat stanley and cannot for the life of me pretend like the camera isn't there.

i become completely rigid and board like.

yesterday with the help of Carlos my camera and Our #3 we attempted some action shots within the shed...

i am not going to tell you how many photos we took, let me just say,

a digital camera is a marvelous thing.

in the end after the day was nearly done,

we had two action shots to show for our efforts.

Our #1 remarked whilst packing her case

"oh yes, this is a perfect 'vertigo' action shot, there you are one leg up and clutching your crochet to keep upright" with a twinkle in her eye.

then Debbie, my soul sister in old blighty pointed out that i may need to be a little less actiony for fear of someone seeing my leg and asking me to join the team GB and train for the next Olympics...

i am thinking this is why sometimes i prefer the company of ones that do not offer up advice even if i ask for it

she is delighted to report after a crappity crap start, Mr Summer is doing what he does best today ~ Tif

in the blink of an eye...

well i had to go and do it,

i had to count the days left of being with Our #1,

and now of course i wish i had not.

for the number of days is way, way too little for me to grasp.

the thought of Our #1 leaving the nest has played heavy upon my heart and my mind over the past few months.

some days it takes me by surprise,

out of nowhere comes a little voice, reminding me less i forget the time is drawing close...

and with it,

i feel like the very breath within my soul has been taken.

so with that being said i need to take a little time,

we will not necessarily be doing anything in particular,

just hanging around the shed together.

perhaps a bit of thrifting for old times sake...

lordy how i will miss my thrifting buddy.

she will be busy packing up her belongings

i will be busy trying to finish up her blanket per her request

and all the other 'lappity lap' blankets that keep asking to be made...

i am thinking over the next seven days i will spend my thoughts wisely,

telling myself how really, despite it feeling like the end,

it is truly just the beginning of a new chapter for her and for me

she will be back with a 'skip in her step' soon ~ Tif

a 'high hopes happy' plan...

dearest readers of the utmost kind,

you have bought tears to my eyes,

for indeed i feel like i have been hugged time and again by your kind words of yesterday.

i am thinking we all need hugs every now and then,

that indeed it is okay to feel a little sorry for one's self

but then i am thinking it is also important to continue with high hopes of things getting better...

and so today you find me with high hopes and my overalls on.

my high hopes are for the grocery store,

my kitchen cupboards are positively echoing.

i fear i may require a zimmer frame to complete my one task of the day.

as i know no whereabouts of such a handy contraption, i am taking a volunteer with me.

i am thinking to find a volunteer amongst my delightful offspring i will also be requiring a carrot to dangle in front of them.

for yes indeedy, ten whole weeks of peachy closeness stretch out before us.

school is out and now it is just

me, Mr Vertigo, three teenagers and one pre-teen in close proximity

it would be quite true to say,

i fear for my shiny place,

i fear for Miss Ethel seeing any action,

and most of all i fear for my sanity.

but i have a cunning plan

and

my cunning plan was thought up whilst dallying with Mr Hook.

a cunning plan with a name...

and that name is

the 'high hopes happy' plan.

just saying it makes me feel so much better.

try it for yourselves.

smile a smile to a random passing stranger within your nests

they will stop and

wonder what knowledge could you possibly know that makes you smile in such a way.

and if they by chance enquire, then you may enlighten them

"why i'm thinking about my high hopes happy cunning plan"

they will be intrigued, wishing to know more details

and so dearest readers, for me the 'high hopes happy' plan

is about seeing happy and hopeful things each and every day this summer.

for i hold my hand up high and say,

i am positively shaking at the thought of losing my precious alone time where i do my thinking, my crafting and my rambling...

but i also know i will have that time again.

the time i will not have again is time with my children living altogether,

close by me where i feel like i can keep them safe from the world

even if in reality i cannot.

i need to take the precious moments of good and crappity crap...

listening to them bicker,

the exasperation that comes from the trails they leave behind them,

the moments when you think you will lose it super big time if one more child fights over the telly.

when we sit around the table, another orange colored meal laid out before us

and i look around me, they are laughing, probably at my expense, but none the less laughing together.

when a cup of tea appears by my side, thoughtfully made for me without request,

when i realize i am fast becoming the shortest in the family,

and

indeed listening to "mum, there are no clean undies, where are they?"

yes those are the precious moments

i need to take it all in,

hold on to it whilst i still have it,

see the happy in each and every day

september will roll around fast enough.

Our #1 will have moved so far away across the pond

and the other three will be back in school here.

the shed will take on hushed tones

and i will once again have alone time with my thoughts, my crafting and my ramblings.

with a little bit of luck, we will be left looking back

at a summer of 'happy' and looking forward

to our futures with continuing 'high hopes'

she is off to 'stock up' with her chosen volunteer ~ Tif

thrifty thursdays on monday...

on friday Our #4 turned 12.

i noted he was full of beans

whilst i was full of aches...

i marveled at how being 12 was rather wonderful

one appears to have no worries

nor CCSI's to slow one down

in the evening Our #1 insisted on taking me to the thrift store

she said it would do me good to get out and about.

i think right there dearest readers, shows why i shall miss her so.

she drove me there,

found a cart to prop me up

directed me to the household department

and left me to it,

whilst she went to the clothing aisles.

never have i been so glad my thrift store has trolleys.

mine served several purposes as i hobbled around...

to replace my need for a zimmer frame

and to also hold the growing pile of treasures

upon returning home to the shed

i noted to Our #4

that indeed his birthday may be lacking a cake,

but what it lacked in cake

it made up for in thrifty finds...

a Stelton vacuum jug by Erik Magnussen

for $7

and a rather peachy retro quilt

for the couch.

i then broke out my Cadbury's Caramel bar from hiding

and shared it with the birthday boy.

to celebrate his 12 years

which seems so much longer,

and to celebrate my thifty finds

which always seem so much sweeter

when found thrifting with Our #1

she is taking things slowly with Miss Ethel and thanking you most kindly for your CCSI support ~ Tif

a cunning plan...

this weekend

i was a little dazed,

perhaps even disoriented.

for i had a cunning plan all worked out

but it would appear,

i misjudged my clan

and therefore

i am most delighted to report,

i did not require a cunning plan...

my disorientated day began with a cup of tea in bed,

something i have not enjoyed since my birthday.

i was told not to set the alarm by our #3

he would get up and sort little olive.

i pottered downstairs way after 9am

to a little pile of goodies

all wrapped in homemade paper...

i was not required in the kitchen,

i was asked on numerous occasions

if they could fetch me anything,

or

did i want a cup of tea.

i was given plenty of crafting time,

giving me a chance to

'dottie angel'

a forsaken little cuckoo clock

who came my way.

in the afternoon

we took a trip across the bridge

into the big city,

the sun beaming down on us.

we sat in pioneer square

with our drinks 'al fresco'

me, my man and my four children,

a rare sight indeed.

i looked at each of them in turn,

wondering what paths they will take in life

hoping they will be okay

at the end of my mother's day

i sat quietly reading what our #1 had placed on my facebook wall.

i'm 'crappity crap' at facebook.

but she doesn't let that bother her...

she wrote

"this will be our last mothers day together for at least a few years, so i would like you to know i love you a lot.

you're so charming and odd, but completely influential on me in the best way mothers can be.

eighteen years of mother days. can you believe it?"

and the thing is i can't,

i can't believe yesterday was the last mothers day i will have with all of my children living under the same roof.

so here i go again dearest readers...

feeling melancholy,

counting the days

and

as i watch my children,

messing around,

winding each other up,

being their silly selves,

and driving me up the wall at times,

there is one thing i know to be true

without a doubt,

i have truly been blessed in my life

she is beavering with Miss Ethel, for a shop update is in the makings ~ Tif

feeling a little damp...

last week, me and my clan packed up our bags and headed over the border.

i do like saying that,

it always sounds so exotic saying one is 'heading over the border' to foreign parts.

of course the truth of the matter is,

it is never exotic piling into a mini van with three teenagers and a preteen for any length of time over 15 minutes.

but i was tres excited,

for it has been two years since all of us have gone away together

and so i was armed with my special 'i'm not listening to you' fading out device (called daydreaming),

one large packet of sun chips

my new, second hand raincoat

and

i was more than ready for a road trip.

for indeed what could be more exciting then heading to Vancouver in Canada.

it is one of my favorite cities to visit and we haven't been there in many a year.

now of course i actually probably have only ever visited less than 10 cities in the whole of this world so i'm not really one to judge or compare them.

but i do like Vancouver and my clan like it even more.

for Vancouver is where they sell Shreddies cereal.

on returning home from our excursion i had visions of border control opening up the trunk of the 'big green turd'

(as our 10 year old, rather smelly, mini van is affectionately known)

upon which the border control man would say

"what do we have here then, trafficking Shreddies are we?"

but it's not about the Shreddies today dearest readers,

no sirree, it's about my new second hand raincoat...

i have lived in the northwest of the US for nearly ten years and until three weeks ago did not own a rain coat of my own.

i am thinking that is quite a feat.

however, i found one recently on ebay,

a used NOA NOA one that had my name on it.

it would appear that it had other peoples names on it too.

so in the last few seconds of bidding time,

i put in my top bid, shaking and a sweating.

after what seemed an eternity,

the sweating and a shaking paid off...

then i waited for its arrival,

upon which i noted it was not a dull tealy gray as the dim slightly iffy ebay picture suggested to me,

but instead a rather light pretty pale blue with mini polkadots.

you know the kind of color an eight year old would like to wear.

i told myself

"do not fret Tif, for when it is raining you will be dry and happy, thus balancing out the worries of wearing an eight year old's rain coat"

and so i packed my lovely raincoat for our road trip,

for i knew the weather man had said "rain"

and i knew i would be laughing whilst my clan would be wet.

the first day and it rained.

i chuckled knowing a little bit of rain wouldn't harm me.

i donned my rain coat, took the elevator 29 floors down to the ground and headed out,

rustling as i walked...

after a few minutes,

"that's strange" i thought to myself,

a feeling of dampness beginning to sink in.

upon perusal of the interior of my raincoat

it would appear i had water seeping in,

yes as far as i could tell

water was positively loving my raincoat...

on very close inspection i noted one rain drop having the audacity to quite clearly run down the inside.

i turned to my man and told him just how disappointed i was in my little raincoat.

how i could deal with feeling a little bit twitty in it and rustling where ever i go, if it actually worked

and then i made the mistake of mentioning just how much it cost in my moment of disappointment...

after the moment of confession had past,

my man had regained his composure

he told me not to fret,

that indeed he too would feel most disappointed if he had a raincoat that failed him so.

he assured me upon returning to Mossy Shed he would have a rummage in the garage to find some waterproofing spray so my raincoat and myself may live happily ever after together.

for as i remarked to my girls on the day my raincoat arrived in our Mossy Shed mailbox,

"girls, i intend to be wearing this raincoat in twenty years time, it is the sort of raincoat a granny who is a little bit mad would wear"

she is spring cleaning, which evolves a lot of shuffling and of course pondering a certain wall ~ Tif

footynote: here's a bigger picture of the raincoat, thus avoiding you having to rattle around the kitchen drawer to find your bi-focals to see the one above :)

conquering 'gingham'...

on Saturday morning i had been greatly cheered,

not only by your lovely comments which you so kindly sent my way.

but also by the knowledge, despite my 'zapped state', i had spotted a new thrift store upon the way home from the gray and beige DOL.

oh yes indeedy!

as we sat at the lights,

our #2 in charge of the wheel,

me clutching my little sunshine sack

and

waving frantically for her to move over lanes so we could get home...

soon realizing it was not to be, as no one was going to let us in.

that's when it happened

like a beacon in the dark,

a glimmer of sunshine on a cloudy day,

i spied 'it' over my shoulder,

lurking between two other buildings...

i could just make out the letters

h.o.m.e

and

i.f.t

i didn't need to see any more, my inbuilt senses told me all i needed to know.

no hope of getting to it then, we were already heading somewhere else due to a 'no lane' change.

no matter, for at that moment i was too zapped.

i know, it must be tres worrying for you dearest readers to learn Tif was too zapped for thrifting.

but do not fret about such things,

it will all be hunky dory in the end.

(do you like that? 'hunky dory'... i have no idea where that came from but i thought it most lovely for a monday ramble),

all that mattered was it's discovery,

waiting patiently for my return.

it didn't have to wait long, Saturday afternoon saw me and our #1 heading back.

just like me, she can't resist the pull of the thrift store.

on entering the store,

i found a cotton gingham duvet cover with orange flowers upon it,

i looked at the cover,

the cover looked at me,

i told the cover,

"i don't do gingham and i don't do purple"

but the cover had other ideas.

launching into dreams of living life as a picnic blanket, patched together with other forsaken fabric friends...

i told the cover,

"little duvet cover, you have helped me to see another side of myself that i did not know existed, and for that i thank you kindly. i can do gingham and i can do purple and i can for you little cover, do a picnic blanket"

she is busy working on recycled lovelies for her little shop update on Thursday ~ Tif

this side of heaven...

i told my man upon his return to the shed last night that the 'linky dink' gods were against me.

he gave me the 'knowing look' that all techies give to non techies.

the look that says

"there there, non techie fool"

after several minutes of him doing his thing,

all the time listening to me over his shoulder advising

"did that, nope that won't work, tried that... yep, and that"

(which was really aiding him nicely)

he came to the conclusion that it was not me or my little shiny place but something far greater out in cyber space.

i knew it! i knew it!

i have not been jinxed by the 'linky dink' gods after all...

this and one other thing has got me as giddy as the giddiest i have ever been.

("steady on Tif" i hear you exclaim "don't want to see Mr Vertigo and his wicked ways take advantage of you".

"oh you are quite right, thank you kindly for your concerns" i reply)

in fact i fear my giddy ways will keep me up all night with eyes wide open,

anticipating tomorrow and what it will bring.

let me enlighten you as to the reasons for my 'dizzying' excitement...

our #1 noted to me at the beginning of the week that we had six months left together and we had better make the most of it.

she then enquired as to what my plans were for Saturday morning.

i announced they were the usual Saturday morning chores in paradise,

laundry,

watch little olive,

toilet cleaning,

remove little olive from where she should not be,

vacuuming,

encourage little olive not to bring in a whole branch but be content with a twig

feeding the clan,

and

picking up 'snow trails' left by little olive

(although i must confess the laundry side of things is not quite so 'chorey' since i gave my little laundry corner a 'lickity lick' of turquoise)

she then proceeded to tell me she knew of THEE Mecca of all thrift stores.

that indeed it could quite possibly be the closest thing to heaven this side of the pearly gates.

i told our #1 that she knew just how to sweet talk her mama.

i then told my man, i was unavailable on Saturday morning for my usual Saturday in paradise

and i was handing all responsibilities over to him.

i know how it will go...

she will drive,

i will clutch my handbag and press imaginary peddles,

we will enter together,

we go our seperate ways,

we will talk on phones half way round,

she in the changing room,

me in the furniture section,

we will meet at the end,

we will admire each others finds,

we will line up together,

we will get to the cash till,

she will announce she appears to not have enough money on her card

(looking at me with big eyes)

i will say

"oh, just give it here... but don't tell your father"

she will smile sweetly,

my heart will crack,

i will catch my breath,

knowing we only have

six months of 'thrifting together' left...

and so tonight,

i shall lie awake 'giddy'

whilst 'visualizing' a lovely pair of Swedish clogs with painted flowers on,

waiting for moi

this side of heaven

she is wishing you some 'visualizing' of your own this weekend and will return next week with glue stick in hand ~ Tif