Week 14 Mark's birthday

Week 14 Mark's birthday

Monday was Mark's birthday. He was off early to the office in the morning. He's not in the office much at all these days so it was a bit of an error that he had scheduled it in for his birthday but hey. We didn't have a birthday breakfast but it gave me and the girls and opportunity to organise some other things.


Woo got her present for him finished.

 And Bunnykins and I made a birthday cake. We decided to make it a plum and almond cake as we had loads of plums from the veg box and he does like almonds. Bunnykins is a very good little baker, but she doesn't like the noise of the mixer.

Bunnykins made a party for her Mark doll at the Lottie house

 I got our house tidied up and a few other pottering around things. Mark was back by about 3.30pm, so we could finally get on with presents 😀

 A super Bunnykins card:

 I did us a BBQ, though tbh, after the wasp stuff, Mark wasn't keen to trust me with it so was "teaching" me how to BBQ and effectively sorting it himself. Anyway it was all rather nice and lovely to sit outside

 Cake time

 It was such a beautiful evening, we just sat out having a cider and chatting. Bunnykins was playing with bubbles.

 I sat out quite late with my book. Mark was reading his...with his eyes closed. The smell of the honeysuckle was beautiful.

 In the evening I got a lovely message from Stella, along with a picture of her in a skirt she had found on ebay which was the same as one I have. She said she had been looking for this skirt since seeing me in mine last summer when she visited.

Stella and I have long had a shared love of clothes and a similar style. We grew up going to our local Red Cross charity shop together and revelled in our kooky and alternative style at school. There wasn't a very strong uniform then, just a guidance about grey or black trousers, white shirt etc. So I used to stretch it with wearing grey men's tweed trousers (plus braces of course) with waistcoats and embroidered white shirts (and obligatory massive earrings). Stella favored hammer pants (after MC Hammer) and having a lapel covered in CND badges and the like. We've both continued our love of charity shopping and finding just lovely, shiny things. I mean...her shoes!! I love those shoes!! 😍😍😍😍

Recently she introduced me to a small designer called Kemi Telford. Stella has bought a skirt from her and I would love to if I find one with the right length to suit my height. Anyway, I love it when Stella shares a picture of a great outfit or something she has found 😍. 

On Tuesday morning Woo was getting on with a task for her music class to make a homemade stringed instrument.

She had also finished her drama project for a set design (with a bit of help from some of Bunnykin's dolls house furniture).

 Bunnykins and I got on with some more light related experiments. First making a spectrascope .

 And of course testing it

 Before doing some more refraction based experiments

The late afternoon was quiet and it was very hot outside. I tried finishing off a pair of trousers I have been making. I had decided to add a visible elastic waistband. I like the effect, but I think something went a bit wrong with the pattern pieces and the fit is all back to front and the pockets are too low. Tbh I am getting a bit fed up with it now and don't know if I should just give up as the fabric is quite delicate and doesn't stand up to a lot of unpicking. I have learnt alot making them and I will get the hems finished so that they can be worn but I am a bit unimpressed by how they have turned out and wish I had managed to make a better job of it.

It was very warm on Tuesday afternoon but Woo and Mark decided to go for a sunset run. The ferns are even taller now at the sunset spot and it was a good 3k of running which is great as she hasn't been out running for nearly a month now.

On Wednesday morning I went out for my run. It was hot. Wednesday and Thursday this week are set to be scorchio. But I got round. Did various bits around the house and helped the girls with schoolwork. I realise I need to help Bunnykins more than I have been doing with her english and maths. She does get it done, but particularly on the english, her answers can be quite short and she really needs more support and encouragement. Thing is that she wants to be so independent with it. She is always shooing me away, so it is finding the right balance. 

Mid morning we had some people come from a company that we want to get a pergola from, but not any old pergola...a bioclimatic pergola... or louvre pod! 😀. It is all very exciting (and expensive as Mr C would add), but it is to add some shade and shelter to the near deck so that we have a covered outdoor space that we can use with friends if this lockdown stuff continues and for the shade to that area to be more controllable. Only about another 2 months to wait for it to be installed!....

But it feels really good that we have got an installation plan agreed and the thing is ordered. I feel like I am making things happen - even if I have to wait - that's OK - I have moved this idea forward - it can stop scratching at the insides of my head quite so much. When I have managed to get an order placed for the garden furniture then I can relax even further.


In the evening I sat by the open door reading my book, it was so lovely. There was no air movement, so it was fortunately a good temperature in the shade of the house. The birdsong was so clear.

I took a video of it but it didn't come out as clear as I would have liked.

Thursday was going to be an even hotter day. I started with some yoga on the near deck (the danger of falling apples put me off the far deck).

Then after a workout and some other running around helping the girls and getting chores done I had a shower and put on what I would consider a "Marbs dress". With that and the heat I did feel like I was on holiday.

That weekend in Marbella was such a great break. The Mummies went last year in September as both Mush and Sally were turning 40 that year. I can't quite believe we managed to get it organised, but after lots of planning and false starts we ended up in Puerto Banus in a great little apartment with a pool in the complex. It was a 20 minute walk down the hill to the town and all the clubs and restaurants. We all reminisce regularly about how amazing it was. But there was just this freedom and peace we all felt - we didn't cook - we weren't being over fussy about cleaning stuff up - there was no-one to look after. We just did what we wanted. And we had alot of laughs and spent some time talking about really deep and personal stuff.


We're all quite different, but there is an acceptance and love of that difference. There is also something that is beautiful in all the rituals of women who are close being away together. 

Permit me a short detour for reminiscing...


The night above was the second proper night out we had. I'd nipped out to try and find birthday things at the tiny local supermarket and not done too badly. So everyone was in a great celebration mood (over and above how happy we were to be there already). Something that is wonderful to experience is the atmosphere of a bunch of girls getting ready together for a night out. There's the excitement, and probably wine and chocs.  Then there's coordination over practicalities such as who goes on the shower first,  or borrowing a hairdryer.  The coordination is about a communal sense.  There's sharing going on; jewelry or make up or whatever. Then there's the coordination over what you all wear.  And it goes deep!... There's a process of checking each other out and scoping the mood so that what is created is a communal creation - the girls are united visually.  It's like a tribal uniform. And where there are deviations that's just expressing allowable individualism within the group. But there's an unspoken process about finding a consensus. It's not about dressing all the same, but about giving off a signal that says we are as one.
 

You're seeing each other in underwear or in the process of dressing,  so it's intimate (Though not saucy!). There is building each other up.  Telling each other how nice a dress is it giving advice on hair styles or something. Then there's the smells of all the perfumes and soaps. And the taste of wine and probably music and chatter and laughter. If you look at that picture,  we're not dressed the same,  and we're not dressed like we were the night previous. But there's definite cohesion; to get it right means you're attuned. It's not discussed outright. I might ask the opinion of others;  I might say "which of these two?" or "are you wearing a dress or trousers?". But no-one ever says "what's the theme?". It's a far more subtle and iterative process. What's everyone else wearing,  you put your 2 pence in,  see how others react,  change your mind etc. It has that feeling of intimacy, closeness, trust and connection. And then the sensory experience and joy in the process. Being part of something,  not something massively grand,  but important nonetheless. I think feeling connected is the most important.  It's a clan or tribe thing which is deeply rooted in our being social animals.


Back to Thursday this week... In the afternoon Bunnykins and I were chatting about what to do and i suggested that we got on with our art club projects. The theme this week is things we miss. Bunnykins talked about her friends and family, but when she talked about going to the library - that felt like it could solidify into an art club project. We brainstormed some things and she decided that she wanted to make a book about her favorite books and the library. It would be a size for the Lottie dolls to enjoy. We found some pictures of bookcovers online and got making.

I said that I missed playing with Ukuleleland in our concerts, so I borrowed some polymer clay from Bunnykins on the understanding that the resulting ukulele I made would become the property of the Lottie who represents me in Bunnykin's house (Bronte).

(Bronte looking on)

She bound the book using thread.

And found a fabric cover for it.

Ben cycled over for the lesson and was with us a little after 4pm. It must have been such a hot cycle ride, so I really appreciated him making the effort. Tea was in the slow cooker so we got set up under the apple tree where it was shady and cool. Fortunately there was no wind and so little danger from falling apples.

We really enjoyed playing though I was conscious that we could be heard in the gardens all around! Added a little pressure and sense of performance 😀.


We had invited Ben to eat with us, so I had set him up his own little bistro table on the lawn. We had curry which is normally our Wednesday night meal, and on Thursday we do burritos - but that was too much sharing and using hands, so curry it was.

Over tea, Bunnykins showed us her book:

I loved all the illustrations - especially the mum and the daughter going to the library and holding Claude books. I thought it was just marvelous and really touching. 

Ben and I carried on with our playing after tea. I took a few videos. 

Shine

I got the music in me

Jolene

Have you ever seen the rain? (Quite a few false starts!)

I could have sat out there playing and chatting all night. It was sad to wave him off...also terrifying as everytime he turned to wave on his bike he started weaving around and narrowly missed crashing. Each crash averted then caused him to wave that he was OK...resulting in another weave and so on...wave...weave...wave...weave! 😜 Love him 😂


Bronte with her ukulele and Abbi (I think) with the library book:

Friday was still a warm day. Soup was on the meal planner for lunch (the weather forcast had suggested a break in the weather by Friday), but it didn't really feel like a soup day so we went across to the hatch to buy pizzas for lunch. Mark and the girls couldn't resist an opportunity for frisbee.

We got drinks and had to wait for the pizza to be made.

showing off my new shorts 😀...

We took the pizza back to eat in the garden. It was yummy.

Bunnykins had decided that she would let me cut her hair. It was all matted (as is quite typical), so just brushing it out after her shower took at least half an hour.

(Roo patiently waiting for her turn)

Ready to start:

It took a good while; it was harder than I was expecting, but Bunnykins (and Roo) was very patient.

I joined Ben's Friday ukulele club a little late, then got a few more jobs done before Hannah arrived at 4pm.

We sat under the tree. It was a little like an interview pannel with us all lined up facing her! But it was lovely to see her and chat.

I then manged to spill prosecco on myself from my massive glass! What a flipping waste! It's just too massive to put down and I was checking on a message I'd just seen come in. Mark managed to capture the moment just after....

An outfit change was required as I had even managed to soak my pants...indeed what a waste of prosecco! 😝

 Saturday morning was much cooler and raining. We set out to visit Tim and Deirdre in Dorset. They have been really keen to see us and if we didn't visit them...they would visit us. We felt it was safer for them if we traveled there.

 The weather was miserable but we set up under their car port. Deirdre had thought we were coming on Sunday so wasn't really ready for us. But we made ourselves quite at home.

 We chatted and I made a little drawing of Rusty...who sat very nicely.

 A bit of boule was played on the drive.

 Deirdre brought out some old family photos from the Challis side. I'll have to remind myself who they are and edit this later...

 There were quite alot of photos and documentation relating to the salvage of the ship The Politician. This was the ship from the film Whiskey Galore! Mark's great grandfather was in charge of the salvage operation.

 He's the chap on the left.

 We went for a walk to the common.

 
 Deirdre had got in a cake for Mark's birthday, here he is just about to blow out the candles and then deciding that wouldn't be a good idea to blow all over the cake!

 Tbh the social distancing was quite hard and stressful, mainly because Tim and Deirdre weren't really bothered about it and didn't seem to think it was a big issue. The girls were really good and I was very proud of them both for how sensible they were.

 Anyway, it was still nice to see them.

 Wine in a can!

The girls also entertained themselves by doing photoshoots around the garden (which is lovely).

 Capturing Bunnykins character!..

 We were quite late by the time we were home. On Sunday Mark got up super early for a run with Jason and another chap across the Chilterns.

 After he had gone I managed to crick my neck badly. I was able to move enough to find a place where I could go back to sleep. But it was not good, so I was still up quite early and feeling sorry for myself.

 I did manage to do some yoga with Pippa which did help.

In the afternoon Mark and I went out to pick fruit as we felt that the gooseberries were in desperate need and the redcurrents might be lost if we left it too much longer. I didn't feel up to it really but I managed to pull my weight. 

 Topping and tailing was interminable, so I was delighted when Woo came to help us...enticed by the promise of getting to use a sharp knife. As we worked I reminisced about Jam Fest which was when we used to go to Barton and my parent's home for the weekend to help them collect in the fruit...and of course make jam.

 We had 5kg of gooseberries in the jam pot (and some more for the freezer). This makes a big batch of jam!

 Woo made pizzas for our tea.

 We had our pizza and poetry evening (with me jumping up occasionally to stir). Mark went for some more Seamus Heaney.

I read the Bell and the Blackbird by David Whyte.

 Woo's choice:

 Bunnykins read a poem from within her St Claire's book.

 Eventually it was ready to pot up. I need to make some new labels but I love these ones with labels still on from 2011 jam making:
 

 Pretty yummy stuff and we had more than we had jars for - but I believe you can freeze jam!

 I finally was able to sit down in a chair where my neck was supported. I finished this book I've been reading. It really is worthwhile. The title is provocative, and there are certainly challenging points - but then there should be. It was really engaging, well written and thought provoking. I would recommend it to anyone.