Looking Backwards

I have been tagged by Ginny

for The Archive Meme
but the rules are very complicated
and I am short of time at the moment
and so I decided
to list five of my archive posts
to show the development of this blog.

1. In Which I 'fess Up

in which MrM discovers his destiny

2. Stir with a knife, Stir up strife

MasterM makes a futile attempt at resistance
3. Self Heal

the mission statement

4. Silly Shadows

MissM reveals herself as the creative genius

5. Sunset

my favourite post

It is a very self-centred attitude

and it would have been much better

if I had stuck to the rules and chosen posts about:

1. family

2. friends

3 yourself, who you are… what you’re all about

4. something you love

5. anything

I would love to tag:

Blackbird

Domesticali

Dottycookie

BlueMountains Mary

WhyMommy

because they have massive archives to delve into

and I love to read their blogs

but they are all busy people

so maybe they will make up their own rules.

Or not do it at all.

Whatever.

I had better dash off and leave them grovelling notes.

Family Likenesses

MasterM and I are on our best behaviour because attending a University Open Day is a serious business that could affect the rest of your life. No pressure.

I have already had to tick him off because he suggested that if he came this far North he would need a Bobble Hat for every outfit.

We are sitting in the lecture hall waiting for the start of the Presentation and the door opens. In come a mother and son with identical protruding eyes and tufty hair. MasterM and I realise that things might start to go wrong with our resolution. Next we see a mother and daughter flicking their hair back in an identical manner. We realise that we are surrounded by clones.

And here is The Pointy Nose Family. This is the tipping point because MasterM has started to laugh. I am holding on.

In front of us are the Chewing Gum Ladies - a mother and daughter who are doing synchronised chewing. I am still holding out. And then there is the final straw - a father and son walk in and MasterM says 'Well, I hope that kid is enjoying the hair he has got because he is not going to have any by the time he is 30' and I am lost.

MasterM turns to me and says 'Is my nose the same as yours?'

And the answer is 'No'.

But it will be obvious to everyone around us that we share the same sense of humour.

Cupid's Carnations

The house is full of bright red carnations

Each with Cupid's message;

funny, suggestive or mysterious.


A little bird tells me

that the person who tied the messages

onto the carnations for MasterM complained...

Because there were so many.

*****

The school has a tradition of raising money for charity
by selling carnations for Valentines Day.
Slips of paper are sold for romantic messages to be written
which are then carefully censored by the teacher in charge.
Attempts to circumvent the censor by writing in
French, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Latin or Greek
are foolish because experts are drafted in

from the Languages Department.
The messages are transferred to beautifully printed paper
and tied to thousands of carnations.
Everyone in the school gets at least one - even the Security Guard.
Last year they raised over £3,000.

The Lenten Rose

Today I saw the first Hellebores in my garden.

I have waited for their arrival in the clumps under the cherry tree

And this year, as every year, they surprise me.

Suddenly, they are there,
shadowy purple and bruised white petals.

And this year, as every year, I think:

I would like
a white one,
a dark purple one,
a cream one,
an anemone petalled one...

What is it about Helleborus orientalis
that awakens the irrational collector in me?

A Frozen Moment

I don't feel like writing this morning.

There are lots of things that I want to write about

but either I can't find the right photograph

or the topic is not appropriate.

Today I will make plans and write lists

and my brain will gradually relax.

Tomorrow, half term begins.

Reasons to be Cheerful

I have a very small kitchen but I love it.

It is 8pm on Monday night,

the supper is cooked

and I am waiting for MrM to come home.
I realise how happy I am,
just at that moment,
surrounded by my favourite things.

1. My saucepans
Cherry Red Le Creuset
A wedding gift from MrM's grandmother.

2. A bright orange arrangement
A cheerful Kalanchoe,

a citrus candle

and MissM's handpainted cat

with the lime green eyes.

3. Dark green broccoli
I am good at cooking broccoli;
Even my son has mentioned it.

4. Blue Spode mugs
The Spring collection
with roses, rabbits and elephants.

5. My new jug with red hearts
A Christmas present from MasterM
(which was chosen

with the help of the Lovely MissE.)

And then,

just as I am taking this photo
there is a knock at the door,
and MrM is home

at the end of a long day.

And that is the best reason of all to be cheerful.

*****

I must thank Steph from Curlew Country

whose delightful post inspired these thoughts.

A Cotton Scarf

I am knitting a scarf
in cream cotton moss stitch.

It will be very plain
and soothing to wear.

It is a shame that I cannot knit faster
because 'soothing' would be good right now.

I have just noticed that it is February
which makes me wonder what happened to January...

Did I blink?

Red Sky

Drowning in bird song
in the early morning,
I watch the gulls rise,
white shadows
over rose-water meadows.

Shopping With MissM

We are doing Grown-Up Shopping :

Cocktail Dresses, High-Heeled Boots, Gorgeous Handbags,
Skimpy Vests, Fabulous Perfume, Tailored Coats.

And now we are in the Haberdashery
because MissM needs some thread.

MrsM
What do you need brown thread for?
MissM
To mend my Teddy Bear.

Fitzbillies Chelsea Buns

I cycled past Fitzbillies on my way to lectures

And so I lived on these as a student.

If I arrived early in the morning I could buy the trimmings

Which were the Extra Sticky bits from the end of the tray.

The warm, cinnamon smell would leak out of the paper bag

As I sat in lectures and tried to stay awake.

Chelsea Buns in later life have been a disappointment.