Which way?

I'm feeling my way with this blog. Not precisely sure what I want to make with it... Just had a gut feeling to begin. So, here's the initial recipe I'm working with:

• 8 oz of Coarse Courage (to head off the inner negative critic, if you've no Coarse Courage, then use 1 pound of Refined Courage).
• Time (to taste).
• 2 fl.oz of Everyday Life.
• A dash of humour.
• 4 oz of Feedback.
• 1 bar of chocolate and a cup of Yorkshire Tea.

Actually, writing that has made me realise how it reflects my own situation... needing a direction, after the youngest child leaves for university... on Tuesday.....Eek !?!

Mixed company...

Saw a golden pheasant today. It was sweeping down the 'aisle' of a ploughed line in a field along with a bevy of crows... picking up the newly sown seed. Its colours were brightened by the dark plummy Cheshire earth and by its plain, black entourage.

Conditioning

Ironing... I like ironing. But you need to use enough fabric conditioner in the rinse cycle, or it's hell. Long-life creases are not nice. After spraying, ironing and re-ironing the shirt, you hang it up and each and every crease smiles back at you, from across the room. It looks like you hardly bothered.

My favourite thing to iron is a large black and white check shirt. It looks sad and rumpled when it comes to the ironing board, but it's soft and pliable and lends itself readlily to the process:

1. The collar
2. The cuffs
3. The sleeves
4. The top front (R), shoulder, top back, other shoulder and top front (L)
5. Front (R)
6. Back
7. Front (L)

Et voila! An unblemished wrinkle-free, smart looking chemise. That level of compliance is very satisfying. No resistance, no hidden agenda of Can-only-be-seen-when-hung-vertically-or-on-the-body type scrunch marks. Smooth as butter.

Some people have an in-built softener/conditioner in their personality. They're pliable, compliant and rub along well with everyone. They're soon smoothed and shaped by others. Not me. I have the stubborn, resistant memory-creases which no amount of ironing out can affect.

Never underestimate a banana.

A missing iPod.
A missing orange iPod.
House turned over. Twice.
Still missing.
Unwelcome Thoughts :

• It could be in one of the six bags taken to charity shops after the girls cleared out their bedroom.


• It could be in one of the bags that E took with her to university last week.


• I might have thrown it away with all the junkmail/newspapers/clutter.


• Last time I saw it was in the kitchen... and there's that ugly gap at the back of the worktop which leads to who-knows-where?


• Could it be in the pocket of that jacket I put in the collection bag?

A banana is found. Stubby black stalk poking out from where it was cradled between the wall and the dropped-leaf of the table, half way down. On the floor a 10p piece. Trying to escape eh? Nobody escapes the Florin Region.

Lunchtime. *boast* Homemade soup and homemade bread. (Ok, so it's usually shop bought bread with cheese). Three of us eating at the table. Discussion of irritating habit iTunes has of losing music. Tell husband about banana-find. Daughter investigates her side of the Table-Wall frontier. She whoops. Right at the bottom...Ta da! Orange iPod found.
Clever banana had pointed the way.

Things Better Left Unsaid (Part 1)

When I was a young, our teenage neighbour Milly used to come around. I just loved looking at her mouth (in a Wish-I-Had-Teeth-Like-That kind of way). Of course, I never uttered a word about it… Just imagine, (I’m cringing at the thought)…
“You know, Milly, I’ve always admired how neatly your teeth slope backwards. It’s so unusual…” and then,
“….I bet some girls get theirs braced to vertical, but that's sad!”
Can you see Milly run? So I just looked; feeling in my belly the stroke of pleasure at the graceful inward leaning line of her white enamel rows.