Matt is at the match (Arsenal v Newcastle, and he's just texted to say he's sitting two seats away from Maradona so he sounds pretty happy!) and O is in bed. I'm sitting in front of the telly watching Mistresses (I'd never be allowed to watch this if M was here!) I'm shattered after a very long and tedious afternoon of classes so I made myself a lovely little supper just for me - potato rosti with smoked salmon and horseradish cream. It looked gorgeous and tasted divine. Unfortunately my camera is out of battery so I can't give you a pic, but here is the recipe which is vaguely remembered from either Olive or Delicious magazine.
Potato rosti with horseradish cream
Potato rosti, homemade if you desire, bought from Waitrose like me if not
Smoked salmon, my favourite is Forman's London Cure
Creme fraiche
Horseradish
Lemon juice
Dill
Mix three teaspoons of creme fraiche with a teaspoon of horseradish. Chop some dill. Place the smoked salmon on top of the potato rostis. Squeeze over some lemon juice. Dollop on the horseradish cream and sprinkle over the dill. Et voila! Serve with a large ice cold glass of Nepenthe Reisling from the beautiful Adelaide Hills.
Tuesday, 29 January 2008
Everybody say dough!
Milo and Marc came over to hang out with Olive and Matt and they did this:
It was a Sunday so I disappeared upstairs with the paper but the shrieking and general hilarity from the kitchen below got me running for my camera. How difficult is it to take a non-blurry shot of two two year olds having so much fun? And how come it never turns into a food fight at Bill Granger's house? (We'd watched an episode of Bill's food that weekend where fresh from a walk on Tamarama (I think) beach in his sparkling white trews he whipped up a batch of cakes with his amazingly cute toddllers). Milo did a sterling job of cleaning up afterwards and the finished products were very, very yummy!
It was a Sunday so I disappeared upstairs with the paper but the shrieking and general hilarity from the kitchen below got me running for my camera. How difficult is it to take a non-blurry shot of two two year olds having so much fun? And how come it never turns into a food fight at Bill Granger's house? (We'd watched an episode of Bill's food that weekend where fresh from a walk on Tamarama (I think) beach in his sparkling white trews he whipped up a batch of cakes with his amazingly cute toddllers). Milo did a sterling job of cleaning up afterwards and the finished products were very, very yummy!
Thursday, 17 January 2008
At last the rain stops
It feels like it's been raining forever. After such a wet summer, it's shaping up to be a washout winter too. Very hard with an energetic two year old who just needs to get out and run off some steam every day (otherwise she forces mummy to chase her round and round and in and out of the adjoining doors of our lounge and dining room only stopping when mummy collapses on a heap on the floor). But a brief respite from the rain enabled us to have a canal walk along the Regents Canal from our house to the Angel. The brisk walk, some glimmers of sharp winter sun and even a few green daffodill tips poking through the ground really lifted my spirits. A cosy night in with a Vietnamese take-away from our local canteen finished the day off nicely.
Bookswise, I'm currently reading Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones, The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan (thanks for the recommendation Victoria) and still dipping in and out of the Mitford Sister's Letters. I've been internet shopping again (Amazon I'm afraid, looking forward to you opening Simon and Tim!) and have a large pile of lovely winter themed books to read with O, which I'll talk more about later.
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Tempting fate
On Thursday night over a glass of wine I happened to comment to M on how well O was sleeping. She was going to bed without a fuss, sleeping really soundly and no longer waking in the night. I surmised it must be down to her dropping her daytime nap.
Every night since then she has woken at least 3 times each night for "Meeeelkkk' "Big hugs in the rocking chair", 'Time to wake up now and go downstairs", "Can't find my Dougie", "Incey Wincey waking me up" and "Sleep in MummyDaddy's bed." This morning after another restless night when we finally got up at 7am she said "I had a lovely sleep Mummy!"
When will I ever learn to keep my big mouth shut!!!
Every night since then she has woken at least 3 times each night for "Meeeelkkk' "Big hugs in the rocking chair", 'Time to wake up now and go downstairs", "Can't find my Dougie", "Incey Wincey waking me up" and "Sleep in MummyDaddy's bed." This morning after another restless night when we finally got up at 7am she said "I had a lovely sleep Mummy!"
When will I ever learn to keep my big mouth shut!!!
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Epiphany
Sunday was Twelve Night but I'm afraid I haven't had any epiphanies yet, especially regarding my coursework, argh. I went back to school yesterday and O went back to nursery, me with heavy heart, her with excitement at seeing her friends and her beloved Suna, Sarah and Angela the Art Teacher. Whenever we have had a chunk of time together as a family I always get a pang of the tiniest bit of loss when we all go back to our daily lives. It's hard.
And I found school particularly heavy going yesterday. Mr State-the-Obvious had 3 weeks worths of thoughts to relieve himself of and I had a really traumatic role-play exercise with a fellow classmate who has gone through an awful lot in her life. I do sometimes wonder if she realises that we are here to learn about becoming therapists not actually take part in therapy sessions. She digs deep at every opportunity and a ten minute exercise may uncover feelings but doesn't allow for you to do much about them. She was clearly upset, and I think she really would benefit from some work, I hope the tutor suggests someone to help her. The group dynamic is changing all the time. It's much smaller as people have dropped out, people have relaxed a bit and some strong personalities are coming to the fore. I noticed for the first time yesterday that I'm not the only person who gets frustrated Mr S-t-O, which was interesting! Some people have some very different opinions about things. And there are some classmates who I enjoy working with, and some who I avoid whenever I can. I have never, ever done any group work with Mr S-t-O and I'm sure the tutor is going to pull me up on this. I'm still not sure whether therapy is for me. Have been having lots of lovely daydreams about opening a coffee shop lately instead!
Feel so tired today, instead of rushing around doing all my weekly chores while O is at nursery I've been napping and lazing about home. Will now have a mad panic to clear up the kitchen, tidy up and get things shipshape before I have to pick her up, oh dear.
Our weekend was good. Watched a brilliant DVD called Tell No One. Pacey, gripping and full of tension and suspense. I was so surprised to see Kristin Scott Thomas speaking fluent French! I always think of her as the quintessential English lady. I'm sure this movie will get a Hollywood remake but I don't think it will be as good.
O is really funny at the moment. She's obsessed with emotions and feelings. All day she says "Are you happy/upset/sad/bored/excited/cross?"etc etc and she gives regular updates on how she and her toys are feeling "George the monkey is very hungry Mummy" "Dougie is very naughty, he be time out!" This particular one is hilarious as she shakes her finger at him, scoops him up and then flounces off to the corner. Her molars are mostly all through now so she is in such a good mood and her appetite is really good (for her). She's eating everything and has a big passion for risotto or Daddy's rice as she calls it. It was so lovely for her to have M around over the holidays. It's really strengthened their bond again. She even wanted to hold his hand as he walked alongside while I pushed her in the buggy. She also seems to be creating an imaginary friend called 'DeeDee'. She pretends to talk to DeeDee on the phone, tells us what DeeDee is doing and is always putting her babydoll in the baby buggy to go for a walk with DeeDee. Last night she packed her Charlie and Lola backpack with a book, teddy and fruitbar walked to the front door and said that DeeDee wanted her to come to her house. Not sure whether to recognise or ignore DeeDee!
We went to a Twelve Night Celebration at the Geffrye Museum. There was a brass band, carol singing, mulled wine and epiphany cake and a ritual burning of the holly and the ivy. (There were some very funny signs on the gate on the way in 'The Geffrey Museum regrets that for health and safety reasons it cannot burn patrons own Christmas trees, holly or ivy')It was great to see how well attended it was, and even lovelier to bump into lots of friends and neighbours there. Since having O we really feel part of the community in a way we never did before. Had dinner with friends and it was a lovely way to stave off the Sunday night blues.
And I found school particularly heavy going yesterday. Mr State-the-Obvious had 3 weeks worths of thoughts to relieve himself of and I had a really traumatic role-play exercise with a fellow classmate who has gone through an awful lot in her life. I do sometimes wonder if she realises that we are here to learn about becoming therapists not actually take part in therapy sessions. She digs deep at every opportunity and a ten minute exercise may uncover feelings but doesn't allow for you to do much about them. She was clearly upset, and I think she really would benefit from some work, I hope the tutor suggests someone to help her. The group dynamic is changing all the time. It's much smaller as people have dropped out, people have relaxed a bit and some strong personalities are coming to the fore. I noticed for the first time yesterday that I'm not the only person who gets frustrated Mr S-t-O, which was interesting! Some people have some very different opinions about things. And there are some classmates who I enjoy working with, and some who I avoid whenever I can. I have never, ever done any group work with Mr S-t-O and I'm sure the tutor is going to pull me up on this. I'm still not sure whether therapy is for me. Have been having lots of lovely daydreams about opening a coffee shop lately instead!
Feel so tired today, instead of rushing around doing all my weekly chores while O is at nursery I've been napping and lazing about home. Will now have a mad panic to clear up the kitchen, tidy up and get things shipshape before I have to pick her up, oh dear.
Our weekend was good. Watched a brilliant DVD called Tell No One. Pacey, gripping and full of tension and suspense. I was so surprised to see Kristin Scott Thomas speaking fluent French! I always think of her as the quintessential English lady. I'm sure this movie will get a Hollywood remake but I don't think it will be as good.
O is really funny at the moment. She's obsessed with emotions and feelings. All day she says "Are you happy/upset/sad/bored/excited/cross?"etc etc and she gives regular updates on how she and her toys are feeling "George the monkey is very hungry Mummy" "Dougie is very naughty, he be time out!" This particular one is hilarious as she shakes her finger at him, scoops him up and then flounces off to the corner. Her molars are mostly all through now so she is in such a good mood and her appetite is really good (for her). She's eating everything and has a big passion for risotto or Daddy's rice as she calls it. It was so lovely for her to have M around over the holidays. It's really strengthened their bond again. She even wanted to hold his hand as he walked alongside while I pushed her in the buggy. She also seems to be creating an imaginary friend called 'DeeDee'. She pretends to talk to DeeDee on the phone, tells us what DeeDee is doing and is always putting her babydoll in the baby buggy to go for a walk with DeeDee. Last night she packed her Charlie and Lola backpack with a book, teddy and fruitbar walked to the front door and said that DeeDee wanted her to come to her house. Not sure whether to recognise or ignore DeeDee!
We went to a Twelve Night Celebration at the Geffrye Museum. There was a brass band, carol singing, mulled wine and epiphany cake and a ritual burning of the holly and the ivy. (There were some very funny signs on the gate on the way in 'The Geffrey Museum regrets that for health and safety reasons it cannot burn patrons own Christmas trees, holly or ivy')It was great to see how well attended it was, and even lovelier to bump into lots of friends and neighbours there. Since having O we really feel part of the community in a way we never did before. Had dinner with friends and it was a lovely way to stave off the Sunday night blues.
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
'The Secret River' by Kate Grenville
I have a bit of a thing for Australian writers. (in fact you could say I have a bit of a thing for Australians seeing as I married one!) Peter Carey, Kate Grenville, Tim Winton - and I have my mother-in-law Chris to thank for introducing me to Murray Bail via his amazing book Eucalyptus. So it's surprising that it took me so long to get around to reading The Secret River by Kate Grenville, especially as I love her book The Idea of Perfection so much. It's a love story of two misfits falling in love in a little outback town in New South Wales written with enormous compassion and skill. Grenville mixes tenderness with comedy, never once falling into sentimentality. Her vivid descriptions have this bush town jumping off the page at you and her imagery is haunting, lingering in your mind for the longest while afterwards.
The Secret River begins in London in the early 1800's and ends decades later in New South Wales. At it's core are two decisions which change the lives of the main character William Thornhill, his wife Sal and their family forever. William makes a bad mistake which takes them from a tough, but bearable life in the docklands area of London via the convict ship to New South Wales where Thornhill has been sentenced to live out the rest of his natural life. Thornhill ends up on the edge of the Hawkesbury River, harsh frontier land where he begins to scratch out a life for his family believing it will make him rich. This land isn't uninhabited though, it belongs to the Darug people who have lived on it for many thousands of years before him. Thornhill must face another decision, one which he will have to stand by forever.
What I love most about this book is that Grenville never judges the main character's predicament, she just tells what she sees which allows you the reader to ask "what would I have done in his situation?" Her prose and talent for description are remarkable conjuring up the dark, damp shadowy confines of London river life, then the harsh, brittle, searing blaze that fazed the settlers as they got off the boat in New South Wales. You are thrown into frontier life and the sense of tension and foreboding is amazing. It's a wonderful book which was the winner of the 2006 Commonwealth Writer's Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in that year too. Grenville is an amazingly skillful author who truly gets under the skin of her characters when she writes and into your head when you read her.
The Secret River begins in London in the early 1800's and ends decades later in New South Wales. At it's core are two decisions which change the lives of the main character William Thornhill, his wife Sal and their family forever. William makes a bad mistake which takes them from a tough, but bearable life in the docklands area of London via the convict ship to New South Wales where Thornhill has been sentenced to live out the rest of his natural life. Thornhill ends up on the edge of the Hawkesbury River, harsh frontier land where he begins to scratch out a life for his family believing it will make him rich. This land isn't uninhabited though, it belongs to the Darug people who have lived on it for many thousands of years before him. Thornhill must face another decision, one which he will have to stand by forever.
What I love most about this book is that Grenville never judges the main character's predicament, she just tells what she sees which allows you the reader to ask "what would I have done in his situation?" Her prose and talent for description are remarkable conjuring up the dark, damp shadowy confines of London river life, then the harsh, brittle, searing blaze that fazed the settlers as they got off the boat in New South Wales. You are thrown into frontier life and the sense of tension and foreboding is amazing. It's a wonderful book which was the winner of the 2006 Commonwealth Writer's Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in that year too. Grenville is an amazingly skillful author who truly gets under the skin of her characters when she writes and into your head when you read her.
Friday, 4 January 2008
Only 6 weeks...
till my first essay is due in. Gulp, I haven't spent more than a moment even just thinking about which title I'm going to choose. Must start taking it more seriously instead of turning up each Tuesday, thoroughly enjoying it while I'm there, being all enthusiastic and participating (even being the class rep!!!) then as soon as I'm racing my way home on the 38 bus to pick O up from nursery completely forgetting about it until the following Tuesday. Not good.
And, wasn't this blog supposed to contain some references to books and reading? Hmm, where has all my reading time gone? I was thinking I could kickstart my enthusiasm by a review of the books I loved in 2007 but I realised as I perused my shelves that it has been a bit of a dry year for me in terms of writing which just blew me away. However, I have picked out a few and hope to cover them in my next couple of blogs. And as for that dusty pile which comprises my course reading list, I really do need to get stuck in. It was purchased with great gusto when I signed up and so far I have managed the grand total of two titles. And just as O is dropping her daytime nap too. I need more hours in the day, or a husband who is happy to sleep with the light on... Goodnight!
And, wasn't this blog supposed to contain some references to books and reading? Hmm, where has all my reading time gone? I was thinking I could kickstart my enthusiasm by a review of the books I loved in 2007 but I realised as I perused my shelves that it has been a bit of a dry year for me in terms of writing which just blew me away. However, I have picked out a few and hope to cover them in my next couple of blogs. And as for that dusty pile which comprises my course reading list, I really do need to get stuck in. It was purchased with great gusto when I signed up and so far I have managed the grand total of two titles. And just as O is dropping her daytime nap too. I need more hours in the day, or a husband who is happy to sleep with the light on... Goodnight!
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Goodbye 2007, hello 2008
In many ways we are really pleased to say goodbye to 2007. It's been a tough year for us as a family. From spring until the autumn O was ill and we were overwrought with worry and stress. Seeing your child in pain which you can't immediately take away with a kiss and a hug is a harrowing lesson in parenthood. At one point she could hardly walk and it still makes my eyes prickle to remember my active little girl sitting on the ground saying "Please chase me" because she couldn't keep up with the children around her. She went through days and days at 3 different hospitals, was examined, poked and prodded by an entire orthopediac team, had numerous blood tests, ultrasounds and x-rays and was heading for investigative surgery before we saw a wonderful pediatric rheumatologist who diagnosed her with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Throughout it all she was uncomplaining and did her best to hobble around and get on with things. Our amazing little girl, she was astonishing.
Once we got the diagnosis, she was treated quickly with steriod injections under general anaesthetic deep into her affected joints, and combined with physiotherapy, she has responded really well and you would not know she had been ill. The general anaesthetic was frightening for us, but again our little star was unfazed and an hour after her surgery was sitting up in bed, smiling, flirting with everyone and wolfing down a bowl of pasta. It's hard to say how the disease will run it's course, and she has to have check-ups every 3 months until she is 5 but at the moment she is doing so well and we feel so thankful for this. I still feel relief and so much happiness when I see her running, jumping, skipping and climbing. She has such a joy and excitement for life. I wish her never to lose that.
So the main things we are thankful for in 2007 are the wonderful team of physicians who have given her such great care, that her diagnosis is something which can be managed and she may grow out of in time and also that we had private healthcover. If we had to wait to see her rheumatologist as an NHS patient at Great Ormond Street she would still not have been treated as sadly his waiting list for surgery is over 6 months long.
And our main wish for 2008 is that she will continue to be healthy and happy. We love her so much.
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Happy Hogmannay!
We had lots of fun!
And the children did too - don't the Daddies look surprisingly perky for New Year's Day, you wouldn't guess they had horrendous hangovers!Happy 2008 to everyone. Hope it brings lots of good things for us all.
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