Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen is up. It fought back, especially some of the description, but I desperately need the sanity saving, so I ground on.

Also, I really want to start the next project, but I won't until I have finished this, so there!

Thank you for the support.

Little bear is not a happy bear. He is still being affected by the inoculations and is hot, grumpy and has the attention span of the proverbial kitten in a feather factory. Apparently I can expect another two weeks of this as one of the boosters was for mmr, which is live and he can have a minor reaction, but the different bugs are active at around a week apart... I have spotted some spots.

I would still much rather he had this than the real deal. Measles kills. It can cripple vital organs. It can cause blindness, brain damage and weakness that lasts for life.

So there is a few breaks at the moment. I am having to cuddle him a lot. I don't mind.

Spam, spam, spam...

As far as I know I have not put the hotmail account that is my main working account anywhere on the internet. However I suspect that someone, somewhere, has needed an account and put in mine by a lucky (!) guess. Dear heaven, I have spam. It could be worse, there is currently 167 entries in my spam folder.

The reason I think that someone has actually put in an address somewhere is a few bits and bobs are making it to the main folder. Every now and then I look to see how many facebook/bank/stimulant/sex messages there are and what their titles are. I am often boggled.

Thank goodness I don't have a problem with space!

Numbers

I was woken this morning @ 7am, by little bear counting very firmly to one hundred. He is quite good - he needs a bit of help to get past fifty, but he goes for it and enjoys it.

I am going to try and find some good number games for him, thanks to MSE I have some good tips. I don't want to be a pushy mum, but sometimes I don't think that I push him enough.

And (with a bit of help) he can say his alphabet backwards as well.

Chapter Fifteen is up

Chapter Fifteen is up - I had a bit of a struggle with it. I will be starting the next one asap however, as seeing David James has given a whole new slant to a character I have been thinking about but this is one project I MUST finished before I start the next...

Thank you for your support

Little bear visited Wales

We went to visit my uncle in Wales on Sunday. It was glorious. Present were my darling uncle (with a birthday soon, so all his goodies), OH and darling father (lots of father's day goodies), two darling brothers, a friend of one of the darling brothers, little bear, a young teenage girl who is a friend of darling uncle and myself.

It was marvellous. It was fantastic weather, we had a barbecue, it was peaceful in the garden, little bear was mightily indulged but did quite well on the behaviour stakes, I am working on 'please' and 'thank you' a lot.

There was also a dog belonging to a friend of one of my brothers, which I shall call, for the purposes of the blog, mooching hound. It is the size of a smallish labrador and allegedly crossed with an elkhound (most of us were betting fox hound) and he was lovely. He roamed around for tidbits, got into trouble for stealing when he ran off with a piece of rib and refused to be caught, allowed little bear to stroke him, played football and endlessly sat patiently and mournfully in front of anyone who was eating.

Ian who sometimes posts comments made the (really delicious) birthday cake and it was a wonderful time.

I did have a few heart in mouth moments. Darling father may be approaching 80 at speed but he can still do a creditable slide to the ground (last competitive football match at age 50). And little bear took the fence with the neighbouring property as a challenge and just tried to climb a fence which is uprights with an upper and a lower cross bit and is taller than him - he didn't flinch. When we tried to stop him he said, 'I good at this.'

Today his exhaustion is showing, but he had a marvellous time. Actually I think it could possibly apply to all attendees. I can't wait for the next time.

Little bear and Newton

Little bear was playing in his bedroom (supposed to be going to sleep...) and became distraught.

'Car go backwards, car go backwards.'

Poor little bear, the toy garage is on a very slight incline, and the surface doesn't have much friction. So when a light thing with wheels is placed in the right way, it rolls and as little bear was placing it exactly right, the car did indeed roll backwards and little bear was not happy with Gravity. Nor was he particularly impressed by the standard of explanations provided. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair and I think he eventually sulked off to bed.

Book Recommendation

I would like to recommend Big Mum Plum by Daniel Postgate for anyone reading to a pre-school child. In fact it probably goes a little further. I laughed and laughed and I insisted on reading it to little bear again.

Little bear is not taking to potty training. Stuff the rewards for getting to the potty, I am getting to the 'you can have chocolate if you wear big boy pants' stage. He is very resistant. One day I will get there.

Another wasted day. I have just not got with it.

I have had to junk two thousand words because it wasn't writing, it was typing...

I'm off to pick up little bear who has been promised strawberries.

The Demon Drink

Darling father likes a drink in the same way that the Pope hears Mass now and again...

To put that in perspective, while we were on holiday for seven days darling father got through a litre bottle of whisky and a normal full bottle of whiskey. And a glass of wine. And I suspect a few beers at Flamingoland.

So I put in the weekly order, taking advantage of special offers on whiskey and lager (for him, OH, taking next door for football etc). The total of alcohol in the order comes to £56! That is over half the amount!

It has really shocked me. I think I am going to have to think about this v hard.

Just want to say a huge THANK YOU to all that read, and those who have been kind enough to comment on the writing. It is amazingly flattering, and I really appreciate it.

I shall try and keep up the momentum.

Hairy MacLary

Hairy MacLary was recommended by the wonderful lady at the newsagents.

(who is absolutely a star and I don't know how she manages!)

I was in the Post Office returning a torn Hairy MacLary to ebay, and I was explaining to the lady behind the counter about the book. Before I know it a lady in the next queue joins in, 'Hercules Mores, big as a horse, Bottomly Potts, covered in spots...' She had last read them 19 years before, but they had never left her. They rock! And I took a stash of new ones away with me on holiday to help keep little bear amused.

I have managed to convince little bear that the big, black, depressed tom next door is Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town. Little bear is enchanted by the idea.

Now I am off to research Katie Morag...

Little bear loves books

Several times over the last week we have had to rescue little bear as he has fallen asleep with books. I have had to go in (tiptoe, tiptoe) and remove a ton of books from his bed so that he can sleep 'north to south' instead of just across the pillows with his feet hanging over the side.

OH had to empty the bed of books and then retrieve little bear from under the bed!

We bought 42 books from ebay (all new, £40, all reasonable and fun to read) and he has ladybird books and Fireman Sam books as well. Then there are the Hairy MacLary books, with Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town. Little bear NEEDS them all on his bed to sleep.

Thank goodness he loves books.

Money saving Expert

I have been banned for spamming. I cannot even see the forums anymore to read.

My crime - I put up a link to the Forgotten Village and someone must have reported it. Nice.

I am now trying to work out how I can at least see the forums...

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen is up.

Warning - it is 4,201 words long, so a big chunk, and another big chunk to come soon.

Thank you for all the support.

The Postman delivered

And little bear was in the porch when the Postman delivered. Of all the letters he could have posted back out of the letter box, he chose the one with the tax disc. Darn. It is soggy, but whole and now safely back in the house.

At least the bravissimo catalogue stayed inside. I am not sure how comfortable I would have felt with neighbourly speculation, though since Her Three Doors Down got caught having sex in the street I think I am more or less safe.

Chapter Thirteen is up - the next one is likely to be a big chunk so it may be a day or two before I get it posted

Catering

Darling father is not used to the way catering works in this house. He very helpfully offered to bring something in for dinner yesterday.

For him, OH, little bear and myself he brought in two pounds of thin sausages, three venison burgers that felt like terracotta through the plastic and a very small piece of lamb fillet.

The sausages were very tasty for Saturday tea, the remains likely to be my lunch tomorrow. The burgers were pleasant for Sunday dinner, but OH didn't have any as he had already eaten and little bear was on hunger strike for chocolate. The fillet will be done tomorrow for tea, when darling father has gone home. We had a takeaway tonight.

But it had me all off with how I was going to cook things and in what order. I hope the fillet is okay, it has been in the fridge but I am not sure about the butcher. Still, at least it wasn't in the pub with darling father for a few hours, he came straight home.

Chapter Twelve is up

Writing

Chapter Eleven is up.

I have noticed that one of my characters has an injury that changes sides during the story. Darn. I shall get that edited at a later date.

There is more coming just as soon as I get a chance to write it.

One really good thing about the holiday was the butcher. The evening meals were like feasts, very plain but gorgeous. We had bacon chops that nearly melted in the mouth and didn't shrink when cooked, burgers that were juicy and full of flavour, and about an inch thick after cooking. We had baked potatoes with everything. I am planning to go back to the butcher just before Christmas to stock up for the holiday.

I had to leave Mr Sainsbury and get a delivery from Mr Tesco, as Mr S didn't cover the area. Well, the food that we got was great, I am a convert of their antibacterial value handwash and the driver was lovely. However little bear is still in nappies (concerted drive starts Tues) and I had put on for two packs of size 5 nappies. So what did they think they were doing when they sent one pack of size 5 and one pack of size four?

The driver was, as I said, lovely, and took the pack back, but really!

Numbers

Darling father lets little bear play with his phone. Little bear loves pressing all the numbers and cackles as they come up huge and different colours.

Of course the down side is that little bear also pressed dial during this game last time and wiped out £15 of Grandad's credit. I think he phoned Brazil.

Holiday

I pulled a muscle in my back on holiday on the first day - cleaning the cottage so the owner could show prospective buyers around while we were out. Pain continues.

I had an explosive tummy on Monday.

Any attempt to try and keep some sort of check on food buying in a realistic way was foiled by darling father, who always decided that we were going to have something else.

All nights were broken - I shared a bed with little bear and the most memorable night was when I tried to turn over and found him stretched out across the foot of the bed. No idea. He did kick me black and blue.

We had an open fire going every night and the fumes have left me with a hacking cough. My nose has at least stopped running since we left the house.

Little bear ate his own body weight in sugar.

Darling father is exhausted and walking with a stick. He went missing in Flamingo Land.

There were good bits, which will surface later. At the moment I am exhausted, lonely, lost and wondering what to do for the best. I am going to crawl off to bed (all by myself!) and concentrate on the positive.