sick as a parrot and deaf as a post

Hello

It's been a while. Hope everyone is experiencing this wonderful start to spring. What a wonderful free feeling it gives to have doors and windows open.

I haven't blogged for ages and I've not even been reading other blogs - which is something I always enjoy. It's been busy I suppose and we've had bouts of illness. No excuse really.  The sickness bug at exactly at the same time was tricky...I had the loo and son a bowl as he was unable to get off the couch properly anyway. It hit us hard and quick that one although he bounced back fairly quick it took me over a week. Oh and that was on Mother's Day. So we slept that one away this year. The deafness is coming from the pressure in my ears. I think I have a dysfunctional Euston Station tube !! Off to the docs in a week or 2 as it's becoming irritating and debilitating. As I type here is rumbling away in one ear, tinnitus I suppose and often pain in the other.

Easter has been lovely I have managed to get a few days off as well as the bank hols so it's been a relaxing enjoyable time. It feels like Christmas but without the pressure. As a child it meant a lot of time in church but I don't go anymore. Palm Sunday was always the long one although I loved getting the palm and being splashed by holy water.

Now the weather has dried out a bit and the grass is ...mowed...mown...??? Anyway I am deciding what to grow. Have bought some seeds for yellow courgettes and bush tomatoes. Shall be more selective this year but also not grow everything all at once. I shall stagger it in batches. Peas and beans will be on the list for sure. I also plan to buy a little table and chairs so that we can have dinner outside when we feel like it.

Last year was a very frugal time and I have held on to a lot of it for this year. I like having low overheads and I can hopefully look into a mortgage in a year or so when I will hopefully have more income. Also school will be finished so we can have more flexibility in where we move. I plan to not go without though, so some treats will be on the cards such as the table but I thoroughly enjoyed it all last year and learnt a lot. Now I am working it will be a different sort of summer to last year and it feels quite exciting. Potentially it will be the last in this house as well. Having a job has made me feel like I have a future with choices and prospects. And the big bonus is I enjoy what I do and who I work for and with. We laugh a lot at work.

It's more exam time as AS levels are on the horizon, next month. Then next year it's A2's. So that will be 3 years of exams. I believe the system is going back to how A levels used to be. Still cannot decide which system is best although it would have been nice to have a year free of exams.

I hope we will have a holiday this year by the sea. It's years since we have been. We did get back to London for a couple of nights just recently. We were given a free train ticket by a friend and my sis put us up. Often we see West Ham play when we do this but the prem teams were on international break. Instead we went to the Docklands museum, I can highly recommend that. It is free and full of information that's done in a wonderful style. The mock up streets are very atmospheric, not sure if they were meant to smell but they did. Next we walked to Canary Wharf. I lived within sight of it from the day it was built and even heard the bomb the IRA had planted by it but I had never visited it. Was not impressed though. Just shops. Next the Shard. Is it finished was my question when we got back to my sister's. She laughed and says everyone says that. It looks like a little chunk has been left of. We didn't pay to go up it as would have cost too much. I can also recommend Borough Market although it was rammed with people and costs a fortune but for foodies it's worth a look. Do get an Oyster card if you visit London. It saves loads of money and hassle. But always remember to clock off. The buzz and rhythm of London is wonderful but I know I don't have the energy to keep up anymore. The thought of travelling in rush hour in packed tubes exhausts me. But I am so glad I experienced it. It's an ever changing environment and wonderful to dip in and out of. It's also a good excuse to reminisce and bore poor son.

Will stop rambling now and will take some time out to catch up with blog reading (right after I've cooked dinner).

Take care x