eleven days

I managed eleven days without a drink. Tonight's lapse was hardly an alcoholic bender, just a beer with fish and chips. This back to work and school and kindy and making lunches very early in the morning is a rude shock to our holidayed systems. Tonight, home at 5.30 after a long meeting, takeaways and beer seemed a mild response to my fatigue.

Anyway, enough whinging. Some things are fantastic. The car is going to get a warrant tomorrow. Well that is what I fondly imagine, given the amount of time and money involved in getting four new tyres, ball somethings, indicator covers or lights and door hinges lifted. None of that deals with the fact that when it rains, the seal has gone and raindrops land on the driver, but I guess that is not dangerous and I'm sure we have spent enough on this car this fortnight. When the system registers the warrant as a pass, then I can pay lots of money, almost $300 in fact, to register the car for 12 months. After that Brighid and I are going swimming. To swimming lessons no less. Taking my not even school age child to swimming lessons, I feel like I am even doing one of those super mother kinds of activities. Next it will be two different kinds of dance lessons and some French for good measure.

I'm not going to work again until Friday, as Thursdays are my day off this year. This morning I was home alone while Brighid was at kindy, the car was at the mechanic and the boys were at work or school. I cut out half of the fabric for Vogue 8379. Not sure if my scissors are blunt or if the cutting difficulties are actually me cutting the carpet loop with the fabric.

Tonight, I pinned the shoulders together of the endless purple cardigan, making it look rather like a cardigan for the first time.

Our town is all about sport at the moment. The All Blacks were supposed to come to Wetville today, only the plane couldn't land so they didn't come after all. I guess they didn't have time to take the shuttle over the hill like ordinary folks who find their flights cancelled. Then this weekend the Auckland Warriors are playing against the Knights right here at the famous Wingham Park, home of champions. My brother, who is ace at choosing amazing presents for my children, has bought us tickets to the game. They were going to be for all of us, but Brighid would go hysterical in a crowd and noise that size which wouldn't be too nice for her or those around her. So the boys will go to the league game and Brighid and I will go peel spuds with a friend in preparation for the Waitangi Day hangi on Sunday.

A book question: recommendations please for the best/most accessible Patrick White novel? I think I should read at least one of his books. Greatest Aussie novelist and all that. I haven't read nearly enough Australian fiction (or of anything really, given how much great writing is out there) but I do think Tim Winton is very good.

Garden flop: pumpkins. I had one actually germinate and begin to be a pumpkin and then it fell off the vine and ants ate it. Nothing has come of the other flowers. So I've pulled the old chook run plant out and will pull out the other one soon. I'd love to hear any suggestions on why this has happened. Also, tips for growing coriander successfully please? ?? I am sprouting red clover and black mustard on the kitchen bench at the moment. A bit of indoor sprouting is often good for my growing confidence when things go wrong in the outside 'real' garden.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh dear... I didn't think of myself as one of those super mothers, but 3 types of dance (ok P only does ballet) and swimming lessons all round. Being able to swim is a necessary life skill and a laudable thing for B to be doing btw and swimming lessons are the only activity (other than dance Saturday of course :-)) I'm up for the logistical horrors which come with it of doing something outside of school stuff! We don't do French though - maybe that means I'm still "normal mummy"... ;-)
Marionx
Anonymous said…
Pumpkins ; do nothing but throw your seeds in the compost (of course it helps if your compost is just a random pile at the back of the section and not contained in a tidy bin). Watch runners appear and take over your garden. Bend them all back towards the native bush - away from veges. Watch them climb the trees and try to reclaim garden. Wage war. Get very excited when little peeps inform you there are hundreds of pumpkins (exaggeration) and that some of them are as big as a basketball, only flat (not exaggeration!)
As for coriander, I've decided it always go to seed. It just does.
~Rachael
Sandra said…
Hi Marion You are my very favourite super mother! I bet your children are having a great time dancing. I managed swimming lessons yesterday and there are more today but forgot to cover Fionn's school books, which the teacher gave me to do. So not only to school on time, in uniform, with food, AND the cash for the stationery, but covering as well? Gotta fall down somewhere.

Hi Rachael It's warmer where you live! We do have some 'wild' ones which I have left in for the moment, though the weather is already cooling noticeably here so zilch chance of growing edible pumpkins from the current flowers even if they do turn to pumpkins.

Slugs like coriander. It either doesn't survive infancy or it bolts. I might try under the lean-to but then I ahve to remember about watering every day.

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