I am LOVING this sunshine - Can't get enough of summer !
The drawback is that I don't get a lot done ..... I guess that's cos I'm too happy to sit in the sun and read a book (only been off work 4 days and finished my first book on Tuesday LOL)
But there are lots of days with summer weather where the occasional shower can be very refreshing when it is as hot as this, or has been for sometime.
A few summers ago, probably about 10 years, we had a long(ish) stretch of very hot days - I remember the kids all enjoying the little blow-up swimming pool we had then ... and them playing with their super soaker's (water pistols) just to keep each other cool - this was one of their favourite summer pastimes!
So ..... on that basis and ....... figuring that they LOVE to get wet ..... I reckon that their labelling of me as a terrible mother, for a particular incident, was a trifle unfair ! .................
They were still quite young - about aged 9, 11 and 13 so they still had their bedtimes and I was fairly strict with this - even in the Summer Holidays - as I believed then (and still do) that children need their sleep on a good regular basis (of course if there were special events or parties, then they would stay up) but at that time they were probably going to bed from between 8pm - 9pm (staggered according to age) and if it was the Hols I would have probably added another half hour!
It was well after these allotted bedtimes - nearing midnight - when the shower started.
It was one of those lovely light refreshing showers - the smell of the fresh rain on the dried earth was intoxicating and as it was such a warm night - I just stood outside and soaked it up ....... and then .... I thought of the children ... and how they would LOVE this!
So I raced up the stairs and quickly but gently woke them all up - not giving them an explanation - just saying they needed to get up ... for an adventure !!
They were all in their PJ's and I rushed them downstairs and out into the conservatory....
Then I SHOVED them all outside and locked the door ......... giggling as I did this !!!
Perhaps I should have been done for child cruelty ......but after the initial shock (more about the fact that I had locked them out) they laughed .... and danced ... and drank up the atmosphere .... Dan took off his PJ's top and they even ran out onto the wet grass.
This only lasted a few minutes - maybe just 10 or 15 - but they still remember that night!
I have no idea what I did with them afterwards - did I send them straight back to bed? - did let them stay up a little longer? (after all it was my fault they were now wide awake) .... I don't know .... and it doesn't matter.
What matters is that THAT night they had lots of fun - in a different way ...... and I still giggle on a hot sunny day ... waiting for the shower !
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
An apology to Bedford River Festival
The start of the School holidays has been brilliant. I work term time only so the 6 week Summer Holidays are great. My last full working week finished on Friday ..... and then the sun came out !!!
We had friends coming over for the weekend and it was the Bedford River Festival weekend, so I had mentioned this to our friends and we considered popping down to the Festival ....especially as I had good memories of all the River Festivals I had been to in the past.
My initial plan was that we could go there on the Saturday night to see the illuminated boats and then watch the fireworks.
However, that plan was soon scuppered !
Of course ... Greg had decided to smoke some meat for our dinner, so initially the excuse was that we could not leave the smoker (and I have to admit the smoked pork was delicious). We sat and ate and dank in the sunshine in the early evening, just enjoying the moment.
This meant that .... through eating and DRINKING .... the Delinquent Annoying Husbandz were then pretty mashed and within an hour they were making excuses NOT to leave the garden!
"We can't drive ...we've had too much to drink!" ......... " We can't walk it - it's too far" .......... "A taxi will cost a fortune" .... etc.. etc..
It did not help that Greg's son and my nephew both turned up at ours and mentioned that there were LOADS of people - (to me that makes part of the atmosphere) and although they both said they enjoyed it - this was also a good excuse for the boys/men to not go to the crowds.
Reluctantly I relented - on the condition that, as we were missing the boat parade and the fireworks, we should go on the Sunday afternoon to see the raft race.
The rest of the evening was spent very pleasantly sitting in the garden ..... and then the conservatory as it got cooler!!
Sunday morning I was up reasonably early - keen to get everyone going (I knew it would take a while to kick start those with hangovers!) I was trying to persuade everyone to walk up but did acknowledge that this would take us about 40 minutes and we had an 8 year old with us so that would have been a challenge.
After about an hour of debate (yes honestly ... an hour) with me suggesting a couple of us drive and park at Gina's (only a 20 minute walk) the boys (men) finally decided that they didn't want to walk at all (probably due to hangovers) and ordered an 8 seater taxi so that we could be dropped off at the bridge !
We were duly dropped off ...and then began ...Greg's mission !!!
This mission was unbeknown to us at the start ...... however it became apparent after about half an hour of walking ....He steered us all to one side of the river (the side that had a few less stalls) and just KEPT walking ...passing most of the attractions and stalls as quickly as possible. My friend and I had to keep calling to get him to stop so we could actually LOOK at the displays and then ... the penny dropped - as we went into the craft stall area he stated that he and her husband would find the beer tent !
However, that was not his full mission - my friend and I checked out a few stalls and caught up with them but then they almost speed walked to get to "the end". We reached the end of one side of the river and crossed over the bridge to the other side ... racing through further stalls and avoiding even more !!!
It finally dawned on me that actually ..... Greg's mission was to just "get through this" as he could not cope with the crowds ......oh yes ... he can cope with a field full and crowded with like-minded bikers at the international super rally BUT ... NOT ..... your average family !
We effectively "ran away" from the River Festival !
What probably made me even angrier was that once we got to the High Street end of the river, Greg "frogmarched" us to a pub at the other far end of the High Street for us to sit outside at the front to "watch the world go by"
ARGGHHH !!
Could we not have done that in Russell Park with Beer or Pimms, listening to the music ..... or sitting by the side of the river watching the Raft Race ??? Beer was freely available with several beer tents dotted around and there were loads of spaces to just sit and chill ... but no .... this was not my DAH's "thing"
So - Bedford River Festival - I am sure you were great - spectacular in fact - and several of my friends posted brilliant pics and comments on Facebook that made me a tad jealous.
However, the rest of the day was spent chilling in my garden and enjoying the sunshine, so not wasted .......
AND the moral of this tale is ..... in 2 years time - for the next Bedford River Festival - I'M GOING ON MY OWN !!!
We had friends coming over for the weekend and it was the Bedford River Festival weekend, so I had mentioned this to our friends and we considered popping down to the Festival ....especially as I had good memories of all the River Festivals I had been to in the past.
My initial plan was that we could go there on the Saturday night to see the illuminated boats and then watch the fireworks.
However, that plan was soon scuppered !
Of course ... Greg had decided to smoke some meat for our dinner, so initially the excuse was that we could not leave the smoker (and I have to admit the smoked pork was delicious). We sat and ate and dank in the sunshine in the early evening, just enjoying the moment.
This meant that .... through eating and DRINKING .... the Delinquent Annoying Husbandz were then pretty mashed and within an hour they were making excuses NOT to leave the garden!
"We can't drive ...we've had too much to drink!" ......... " We can't walk it - it's too far" .......... "A taxi will cost a fortune" .... etc.. etc..
It did not help that Greg's son and my nephew both turned up at ours and mentioned that there were LOADS of people - (to me that makes part of the atmosphere) and although they both said they enjoyed it - this was also a good excuse for the boys/men to not go to the crowds.
Reluctantly I relented - on the condition that, as we were missing the boat parade and the fireworks, we should go on the Sunday afternoon to see the raft race.
The rest of the evening was spent very pleasantly sitting in the garden ..... and then the conservatory as it got cooler!!
Sunday morning I was up reasonably early - keen to get everyone going (I knew it would take a while to kick start those with hangovers!) I was trying to persuade everyone to walk up but did acknowledge that this would take us about 40 minutes and we had an 8 year old with us so that would have been a challenge.
After about an hour of debate (yes honestly ... an hour) with me suggesting a couple of us drive and park at Gina's (only a 20 minute walk) the boys (men) finally decided that they didn't want to walk at all (probably due to hangovers) and ordered an 8 seater taxi so that we could be dropped off at the bridge !
We were duly dropped off ...and then began ...Greg's mission !!!
This mission was unbeknown to us at the start ...... however it became apparent after about half an hour of walking ....He steered us all to one side of the river (the side that had a few less stalls) and just KEPT walking ...passing most of the attractions and stalls as quickly as possible. My friend and I had to keep calling to get him to stop so we could actually LOOK at the displays and then ... the penny dropped - as we went into the craft stall area he stated that he and her husband would find the beer tent !
However, that was not his full mission - my friend and I checked out a few stalls and caught up with them but then they almost speed walked to get to "the end". We reached the end of one side of the river and crossed over the bridge to the other side ... racing through further stalls and avoiding even more !!!
It finally dawned on me that actually ..... Greg's mission was to just "get through this" as he could not cope with the crowds ......oh yes ... he can cope with a field full and crowded with like-minded bikers at the international super rally BUT ... NOT ..... your average family !
We effectively "ran away" from the River Festival !
What probably made me even angrier was that once we got to the High Street end of the river, Greg "frogmarched" us to a pub at the other far end of the High Street for us to sit outside at the front to "watch the world go by"
ARGGHHH !!
Could we not have done that in Russell Park with Beer or Pimms, listening to the music ..... or sitting by the side of the river watching the Raft Race ??? Beer was freely available with several beer tents dotted around and there were loads of spaces to just sit and chill ... but no .... this was not my DAH's "thing"
So - Bedford River Festival - I am sure you were great - spectacular in fact - and several of my friends posted brilliant pics and comments on Facebook that made me a tad jealous.
However, the rest of the day was spent chilling in my garden and enjoying the sunshine, so not wasted .......
AND the moral of this tale is ..... in 2 years time - for the next Bedford River Festival - I'M GOING ON MY OWN !!!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Busy Lives
This last month has been really hectic ..... busy busy busy ..... various events have happened that have kept me away from the blog .... yes ... I have neglected it.
Yet in hindsight, the busy, eventful periods of life are those when I really SHOULD be blogging .....It's a little like a diary ... a record of what's happening in our lives, but when we are really busy we don't have the time to record it .... although these events remain happy memories ...
Such as... the beautiful birth of my granddaughter. It was emotional and great to have another grandchild, and a granddaughter too! There is so much I could blog about that - but all very similar to when Kovu was born and full of the joy that a new baby brings to a family.
There has been the European Football - that we have all been glued to the seats with (and off the seats when we would score a goal !!)
Then the "Usuals" .... earlier on in June was Father's Day - we popped to see my Dad, Mark's Dad and went to the cemetery. This weekend has been the annual Family Party - a tradition held in honour originally for my Gran - all the family joined together for her 80th birthday over 20 years ago. Initially this was held at a local pub that had a large garden....... 60 + Chandler family members gathered together to wish her a happy birthday and, as we all enjoyed it so much, we carried this on, getting together every year to celebrate with her.
After her death we decided to continue meeting up once a year to keep in touch - as members of the family are scattered all over UK (and some abroad too!)
In 2006 (I think) the pub had a disaster ..... a fire started and engulfed much of the building just a couple of weeks prior to the party. As an emergency, and as everyone was already coming to Bedford, Mum suggested (or rather volunteered) our garden, and home made buffet food etc. This worked so well that since then, the party has been held here and has been just brilliant ! It takes a day or 2 for me to prepare, more than that for Mum and Dad to get the drinks and food sorted, a small committed group of lads (plus my sister-in-law and I) to set up a party tent and a couple of gazebos (yes ..... thankfully my garden IS that big) and then a day to recover and tidy up ...... although most people that come do alleviate the burden by getting the washing up out of the way ! As always, despite the rain, we all had a great time!
Of course another get together is one that I MUST dedicate a whole blog to soon ..... my Granada gang ...... friends who have been there through tick and thin ........ almost 30 years ........ and who, when we were all a lot younger, we would get together at weekends and party !!
Then, as a group, and individually, they held me up after Mark died.
Mark died on a Wednesday, so they started meeting up at mine every Wednesday to help me through the initial and toughest patch. Then it became once a month, varying the venue and being with others in the group as they needed support with different transitions in their lives. Now although we only get together 2 or 3 times a year,we do keep in touch through the magic of facebook and emails.
I will never be able to thank them enough for their friendship and all the memories we share together but will just continue to enjoy their friendship, even though we don't meet as frequently as before ......because of our busy lives !
Yet in hindsight, the busy, eventful periods of life are those when I really SHOULD be blogging .....It's a little like a diary ... a record of what's happening in our lives, but when we are really busy we don't have the time to record it .... although these events remain happy memories ...
Such as... the beautiful birth of my granddaughter. It was emotional and great to have another grandchild, and a granddaughter too! There is so much I could blog about that - but all very similar to when Kovu was born and full of the joy that a new baby brings to a family.
There has been the European Football - that we have all been glued to the seats with (and off the seats when we would score a goal !!)
Then the "Usuals" .... earlier on in June was Father's Day - we popped to see my Dad, Mark's Dad and went to the cemetery. This weekend has been the annual Family Party - a tradition held in honour originally for my Gran - all the family joined together for her 80th birthday over 20 years ago. Initially this was held at a local pub that had a large garden....... 60 + Chandler family members gathered together to wish her a happy birthday and, as we all enjoyed it so much, we carried this on, getting together every year to celebrate with her.
After her death we decided to continue meeting up once a year to keep in touch - as members of the family are scattered all over UK (and some abroad too!)
In 2006 (I think) the pub had a disaster ..... a fire started and engulfed much of the building just a couple of weeks prior to the party. As an emergency, and as everyone was already coming to Bedford, Mum suggested (or rather volunteered) our garden, and home made buffet food etc. This worked so well that since then, the party has been held here and has been just brilliant ! It takes a day or 2 for me to prepare, more than that for Mum and Dad to get the drinks and food sorted, a small committed group of lads (plus my sister-in-law and I) to set up a party tent and a couple of gazebos (yes ..... thankfully my garden IS that big) and then a day to recover and tidy up ...... although most people that come do alleviate the burden by getting the washing up out of the way ! As always, despite the rain, we all had a great time!
Of course another get together is one that I MUST dedicate a whole blog to soon ..... my Granada gang ...... friends who have been there through tick and thin ........ almost 30 years ........ and who, when we were all a lot younger, we would get together at weekends and party !!
Then, as a group, and individually, they held me up after Mark died.
Mark died on a Wednesday, so they started meeting up at mine every Wednesday to help me through the initial and toughest patch. Then it became once a month, varying the venue and being with others in the group as they needed support with different transitions in their lives. Now although we only get together 2 or 3 times a year,we do keep in touch through the magic of facebook and emails.
I will never be able to thank them enough for their friendship and all the memories we share together but will just continue to enjoy their friendship, even though we don't meet as frequently as before ......because of our busy lives !
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