Closure?

The death of my mum has made me very wary of change.



I am not sure if this is due to the period of time that she was diagnosed with cancer to the date that she died or if I am just becoming an old cow who does not like change.


So what is the picture of the stroller doing here you may ask?



First of all let me give you a little history. I have never been a hoarder. Once the older two kids did not need the potty or stroller or any of the baby clutter it was sold or given away. As we break or things wear out they are swiftly removed to the dump.



What has changed???



This stroller had alot of research done before I bought it. It has been to Jamaica, St Thomas, Dominican Republic, UK twice, CA, FL, ME & MA.



It is a trooper and it is still going strong.



I finally decided that since number 3 is going to "K" in a week it was time to let it go.



I found a good home to take it too, scrubbed it up & delivered it the same day....just in case I changed my mind.



Now I miss it! How can I possibly since it has not been used for over a year?



I can only put it down to that I do not like change anymore.



Oh my god I will be wearing purple next!



On a braver note (with a little comfort) I still have the crib & high chair to pass on!!

What do you call this?

Larry the red leaf you are way too early!

How can the leaves be turning already when summer has only just arrived to NH?

Pick a house.

We managed to borrow a boat for a couple of hours and went for a tootle.

Sometimes living on top of our hill we get a little detached from the world that we live in.

We boated rather quickly ( Sir L is a speed king!) around Governors Island where the smallest house is worth over a million. Please excuse the angle of number 2 Sir L put his foot down!

There is oodles of money on the island & it is right here in NH which is known more for its beautiful countryside & hickies than rich folk.

So pick which house would suit your dreams:

The fairytale turret style?

Maybe the large wooden tree house look?

Its fun to daydream.

One day.......

Kindergarden?

Oh yes my youngest is about to go to the big K in 2 weeks.

Suddenly I have been having sad thoughts.

"Where did my baby go?"

Now, as I teach Pre-school I am very aware of overprotective parents. On the first day of school I assure them that I will look after their babies as if they were my own as I shoo them out of the door.

"Oh my, have I become one of the clan?"

"Emm just maybe!"

How did any of you cope?

I hope that I am not carried away screaming & sobbing from the school gates like a sad cow.

"Get real woman...he will only be there for 3 hours maximum."

"Oh yes I feel better already."

Finally a day at the lake!

Competing with the older siblings! Looking or the one that got away!

Shall we or shan't we?

Whose feet are these?

House for rent anyone?

The gardens:

What is this you may ask? A nice stone wall and quaint house?

Well since February we have been restoring a house. We bought it as a foreclosure with half a roof over one of the rooms & a nice piece of tattered tarp covering the walls. Every night Sir L or I would go over & decorate, clean, install fittings, rip out walls etc etc whilst the other parent did the homework, stories, activities, washed dishes and prepared packed lunches. The whole process has taken a hell of a lot longer than we ever anticipated..as they do.

So after very little quality time together, many late nights, multiple stress situations e.g. when the snow finally melted the deck proved to be at the end of its life span and needed replacing & we were out of money, oh yes and a tree falling on one of the outbuildings.. also pops into my mind! We are ready to rent it out.

I just need to have the wood stove hooked up & mow the grass. It is cute and is on 1.6acres close to the beach and village in the lakes region. All the carpets are new & everywhere is freshly painted.

We just need a nice couple or family who love cutting grass once a week for over an hour to move in. The gardens are gorgeous with raspberry and blackberry bushes, apple trees and lots of Black Eyed Susan's with daisies and Lillie's everywhere. In fact I have a romantic notion that my ideal tenant would be a famous author or artist who needs a retreat to focus on their work.......hello here it is your little slice of solitude folks!

Tonight it was listed in the newspaper and so far not one call. It is realistically priced so I am hoping that we get some calls over the weekend.

Cross your fingers everyone or we will be living on pasta all winter!

Mamma Mia!

Well the rain continues, as do the daily storms.

I guess someone is having a laugh watching me run in & out of the garden trying to rescue my washing ( I always line dry!). Who needs a gym to get fit?

Feeling in the dolldromes I dragged the kids off to see "Mama Mia."

What a superb film....I had forgotten how fun the English humour can be.

Once I had gotten over Pierce Bronson singing instead of seducing young girls I could have jumped on my seat and joined in singing the good old ABBA songs. It was fandabidozy ( if you remember the Crankies) and certainly brightened up yet another drab rainy day in NH.

It is definitely a film that you can see more than once...even if it is just to try to remember the words to "Voulez Vous!"

Rain.

I've just been advised that in July we had 17 days of rain!

I am sat in a huge downpour as I type.....what will the total be for August I wonder?

Rain, rain go away!
Come again another day!

Airplane travel summary!

A nice quote from Julian Cleary "airlines treat you with thinly disguised contempt. You're herded around like human livestock!"

Good one Julian!

A new invention?

I just love my daughter...I go to clean the kids bathroom & find that their mirror has more than one use!

Its a dolls "undies dryer!"

Well I never, god bless pantaloons!