Books, books and more books

I thought I would never say this but my daughter has too many books and I admit that this is entirely my fault.

I have ever so slightly an obsession with books (has gotten much better, I can now bear to borrow them rather than buying and don't mind passing books on - space rules!). When I was little, I owned very few books, funds just never allowed buying books but I loved them. I was a constant visitor to our village library, reading my way from the bottom left of the shelf to the top right, in order from A-Z. When I had run out of books, the librarian, who I adored, got me more books from the bigger library in town.

It was really important to me that my daughter likes books, so I guess I went into overdrive... and I keep buying, can't pass a charity shop without looking in, the book people prospectus is a killer every time... sigh. I have a problem.

But then today, when we sat on the sofa reading one book after the other and discussing them, well then I think: There is no such thing as too many books for a little one. I am amazed by her knowledge of words and grasping how stuff relates to each other and how important it is for her to know if a character is happy, sad, scared, tired etc. It's lovely. Truly lovely.

It truly made my day today, the day was rubbish to start with, but sitting on the sofa reading books for the best part of an hour was so wonderful that it lifted my spirits.

Monkey Forest

Part of my husband's birthday present was a trip to the Monkey Forest at Trentham in Staffs. It is a place where monkeys run free and you can just walk amongst them. Obviously there are no chimps...

For the first time since we've been together it was actually sunny on his birthday and my god, it was hot. Plus, the day before I had suffered a blister on my foot, so all the walking in the monkey forest and then the gardens was a bit painful. Still had a fab time and Dharma absolutely loved it! Trentham Gardens has the most amazing playground ever, with big sandpits, sensory gardens, tractor racing. Lovely, just wished I lived closer, I would definitely have a season ticket. But it's an hours drive up the M6, so hardly something I would do on a regular basis!

Here are some impressions of our day out (been accused of having THE life, trust me, it's not all fun and games and days out here!).

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my hubby

My husband is turning 33 today! Happy Birthday... he is a bit saddened by the fact that he is in his mid-thirties but I am sure he will get over it and the lime cheesecake, the tandem paragliding and the visit to the Monkey Forest in Trentham might help him get over it!

What a day

Argh, today is one of these days...

First of all, we had no hot water, then noticed we had no water at all and the boiler wasn't working... power failure at the water distribution plant.

Then, the Missy was supposed to have an eye doctor appointment, but she is in such a crappy mood that I cancelled.

Then I broke a milk bottle, cleaned it all up, pick a glass up to put away and let it drop and it broke.

Now I have to rush to post office to post some letters and be back for 10 am...

I want to go back to bed now!

Hey, Mr. DJ

Eastnor Castle

I seriously cannot believe I haven't been there before... Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire!

What a fab day out, lovely castle, almost kitsch, well kitsch really, wonderful park, great playground, nice walks and just a lovely English day out!

We had a fantastic time there and I am already considering a trip back to spend a whole day there...

A day out

Well, after a solid translation slog of almost 2 weeks, I decided it's time to have a weekend off. There are certainly perks - although not that many - to be your own boss.

We went down to Northamptonshire to see my husband's parents and my daughter was so excited to see her Grandma and Grandpa, although she has now decided that Grandma is Granny, there you go.

We had a lovely time and packed a picnic and despite a massive tantrum by a 2 1/2 year old in the car park, it was lots of fun.

We went to Coton Manor, if you ever find yourself in the area, beautiful gardens.

There is something so lovely about doing things like this, going out with family and having a great day, eating outdoors, having a picnic... I guess it reminds me of the good times growing up, when my Great Uncle would pack us all into the Merc and set off to the Black Forest, we would hunt for blueberries, have a picnic and laugh lots, being eaten alive by bugs was part of it, just as much as my Uncle spraying my Nan and his wife with water... We would always come home late, late afternoon, filthy, tired but very happy. Those were the good times!

Yes, it was a good day.

My two loves

My two loves are of course my husband and my daughter. They happen to be also the most photographed subject in this house... They take it well.

An image just like that...

one of my favourites at the moment!

It's Sunday

Well, I have done my translations! The relief I feel when it's done is very close to happiness actually. It's like I have written a book and now it's all done and it moves on to my editor (in this case my husband who proofs my work) and I can lean back for now and relax.

Sort of, I have to do housework now... I wish there was a day when I truly had done everything and could just sit down with a clear conscience and not do anything. I doubt though that this day will every come, so in the meantime I have to sit down and not do anything and feel guilty about it.

Phew, that's done

Gosh, that was a difficult translation... not so much in its content but more in the fact that whoever wrote the text cannot write. Awful...

And then on to the next translation, engineering, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, they often have a tendency to be quite concise and to the point.

But for now I have a glass of white wine and some olives and am happy like Larry... no more work for me tonight!

wooohooo

Thomasland

You always find out something new...

I never was a huge fan of amusement parks, of course I have been before, I even have been on rides but it just never had this sort of attraction to me where all you can think of is going back as soon as you leave the park.

This has changed dramatically yesterday, the day my 2 and half year old daughter was turned into a rollercoaster (mini-one of course) enthusiast at Drayton Manor... She has been talking about the "coaster" ever since, re-enacting it with her Bunny and asking several times to go back.

I also loved every second of it... it was lovely seeing my daughter and nephew having so much fun, they were quite literally bouncing around in excitement.

I have become a convert...

Stress

I am so stressed... and it's only midday.

Any freelancer in the world will know what I mean: There is no such thing as the right amount of work, when you do freelance. You are either swamped and drowning in work, praying and wishing the day had more than 24 hours or there is nada, no work at all.

At the moment I am in the position of having too much work. The day is simply not long enough...

So bear with me in this time as it will probably be very quiet on the blog front!

Filing and archiving

It always amazes me that I was a super organised business woman until a few years ago. I always knew where all my files where, how to organise them and how to find things.

Filing at home always has been an issue for me and I have a tendency to let it mount up, to not throw stuff out which is decades old and to re-invent the filing-wheel every time I do it... the sort of super secure system which ensure that I have to search to find something. It annoys me, no end and every time I vouch to get better and every time I seem to get worse.

I know that I am not the only one, that most people are a bit like me, but hey, I don't want to be like most people... I want to be organised... I want to be perfect... but we cannot always be what we want and have to contend with the fact that we just are, who we are...

A tough lesson for me to learn. And please I don't want to have any filing tips... I have literally books about it, I know how to do it... it's the doing that's the issue!

My daughter playing with an important letter, well I guess it no longer requires filing since it found the end of its days as a paper air plane:

Breakfast time

As I mentioned before, mornings and hence breakfast can be very early here. I am not a morning person, never have been. It takes me ages to properly wake up, to get my behind in gear but when you have a child (and three cats) you sort of have to jump into action if you like it or not.

Organising breakfast is a challenge: I stumble downstairs, usually carrying my daughter since she refuses to walk down the stairs first thing. All the way she will call "Hoops, I want hoops", which means that round cereal which pretends to be healthy while in actual fact it isn't. But it is quick, she loves it and she eats plenty of healthy stuff in the day. That's my excuse anyway.

I usually stumble back into the kitchen, the meows from the three impatient feline creatures get louder and louder and stagger to my tassimo to make the first of many cups of coffee a day. I tend to feed the cats first, as I always have this slight worry that otherwise they might just gang up on me and god knows what they would be capable off.

I know this sounds stressful and believe me it can be - especially if a dead mouse/bird is thrown into the mix. Still, there is something lovely about my daughter first thing in the morning, she usually wakes up in a good mood, gives me a cuddle and we giggle and say silly things.

One of my favourite moments of being a Mama.

Break in potty training

Call me loser, but I have given up on potty training and wrestled a nappy on her... might be stupid but I don't care. It was turning into a battle of wills, she will not sit on potty and then I have to bribe her to do it, she will accept the bribe but then sit on the potty for ages and not do anything. She then finally will get up from the potty and immediately wee herself. When I ask her if she will do next wee on potty she says "no, Dharma wees carpet, funny"

Since last Friday we had a total of three wees in the potty... for all I care she can stay in nappies until she marries and her husband can sort her out!

On a more serious note though, I will wait thirty days and then try the 3-day-potty-training technique... Please let that woman not be a fraud and for it actually to work!

In possession of the car

We only have one car. I have to say though that I miss having a car at my disposal. I don't tend to mind to much to walk to places around here but often feel that if I had the car I had more flexibility in what to do with the little one. Another weird thing is that on days I have the car, the days seem to go quicker. I don't know if it is the early morning routine of driving the husband to the train station and by the time we come back it's gone 8 am and it feels like the morning is progressing. Maybe it's the fact that I usually have the car in order to see a friend who lives out of my walking distance reach.

I don't think we will get a second car any time soon, though... as much as I would love one...

Potty training

Why wasn't I told how blooming difficult this is?

Today's highlights: none (regarding potty-training)

Low points: too many to mention, but the most definite low point was when she got up from the potty (without doing anything) declaring she was going to wee on the rug, which in fact she did and said "funny"... Arghhh

I got so desperate I paid and downloaded the 3 day potty training. But she said to stop 30 days and then start again. Not sure, how I would cope with a screaming toddler not wanting to wear a nappy!

Hence, tonight, I needed alternative therapy in form of some "grape"-juice and BONES season 2 (love Bones and first episode with Stephen Fry in it... yay).


Still, dreading tomorrow especially as I am going to see a friend and her new baby tomorrow...I know, I know you should stay in while potty training, but please I get claustrophic, I need to get out...

P.D. James

I have a somewhat obsessive nature and a tendency to indulge on things I like. About 9 months ago I read my first P.D. James novel, I am down to my last three now. I did try and pace myself, but gave in and bought the last ones of amazon.

I like the who-dunnit style of crime fiction without too much gore and filth. I like good writing style and a prose which is appealing yet easy to read. I like well-plotted stories and well-drawn characters. I believe books should be entertaining, drawing you in, but deeply dislike books that shock you with cheap effects or are written as if they were generated by a text program...

Hence, P.D. James is my cup of tea. I am currently reading "Shroud for a Nightingale", after that only three more books to go. Part of me wants to slow down, to savour every moment, yet it is impossible to not read on and press on when for one the books are so entertaining and are readily available on my bedside table. I guess (unless I am swamped by work) it will be another 4 weeks and then I am done.

And then? What next? I know what will happen... I've been there before. First, I will look for something similar and be invariably disappointed. Then I will look for something completely different and not be satisfied... and then I will find a new obsession... who will be next?

Oh the guilt...

We are going away this weekend to stay with some of my husband's friends. Although I like to go away, I am never a big fan of staying in someone else's house (unless I know the people really well) and this weekend has some more complications:

1. Potty-training...
Now, it is annoying when a 2 1/2 year old constantly wees on your own floor and you have to keep mopping, but it is anxiety inducing when the prospect of it happening at a friend's house with precious carpet (don't know if the carpet is precious, but they are precious about their carpet...) I've ordered some Bright Bots training pants which at least will hold the wee in a bit, but as it goes at the moment, I would have needed at least 20 pants...

2. Vegetarianism
Three veggies on tour! Visiting meat-eaters... oh dear. Do you eat fish? No, I am a vegetarian. Should I feel bad that I refuse to eat animals of any description. (I was told the other day, that a fish is not an animal...). Why do I feel so guilty, I am feeling like I am super complicated, difficult and fussy. Yet, all I do is not eat meat or fish. Seriously, any host should be pleased, how cheap are we to cater for. No need to buy expensive meat, cook us a tomato pasta and we are happy. Don't get me wrong, our friends seem to be super-accommodating, it's me with the issue.

3. Early mornings
Our friends are blessed with two children who like lie-ins. I have a child who likes early-mornings. 5am starts are not uncommon, 6 am is pretty much a given, 7 am is the rare exception and classed as a lie-in. They have lie-ins until 9 am... What do you do when you stay in someone else's house and are up 4 hours before they are... ?

I am looking forward to seeing them nonetheless, despite my anxieties concerning the trip.

I love the weather!

Age...

... is just a number, that's what a dear friend of mine keeps telling me. At 36 I often have moments, where I feel old and since being a mother brings its fair share of tiredness too, the feeling of being old increases the less hours of sleep you had.

Then, however, there are those moments, when I see someone on TV, my age, and think: "Gosh, I don't look that old..." or "I hope I never will 'be' as old as that person is...".

I often look at age like something, that will limit me in doing the stuff I want to do. Like for e.g. going on about, that it is too late to do another degree (history) or that certain experiences are unobtainable due to my age. Sometimes it's tinged with a hint of regret, but I am a pragmatist at heart and tend to move on fairly swift.

And then you come across a blog that is truly fascinating... An 89-year-old woman, soon to be 90, blogs about her life, past and present and it is truly wonderful... so much joy, so much to tell - might not agree with all her views, but then I often don't but still find the person interesting...

Check it out, Svensto's blog.

and a picture

I am currently doing a photography course at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham... I love photography and was able to take a decent picture, but it bothered me somewhat that I had no technical knowledge. I am not quite sure, why it bothered me, but it just did. Overall, the course is interesting and has been very useful to me, but it has to be said that if you start analysing pictures you love, you might end up liking them anymore... at least for a while. I've decided to like my pictures and not care if anyone else likes them. I take them for myself and my family, I am not getting paid to do it.

This picture is just playing about with my recent acquisition of a 50mm prime lens, I use a D40 so have to focus manually, which requires a lot of training. I found that trying to focus on patterns is quite good to get used to manual focus...

Gotta dash...

Melsa

This is me

This blog has no specific subject, I am not planning to change the world (although I do find that some things could do with changing), nor am I on any other mission. This blog is just about me, myself, my family, what I do (however boring that is) and some other things.

At 36 years of age, I can afford to have some outrageously bad tastes in things, am no longer bothered what people make of my taste in books, music, art etc. I love to cook, but won't touch meat, fish and don't care if Gordon Ramsey hence thinks of me as an idiot.

Life is good, here in the Midlands, UK. Very good...

See you later.

Melsa