A Mother's Ramblings

This last week Top Ender went for a job interview. Yeah, I almost can't believe it either. We'd spoken about her getting a job a while back, but had decided that we wanted her to focus on her studies, and seeing as her Dad and I pay for almost everything she wants and needs and give her a little bit of an allowance too, there was no pressing need for her to get a job.

Last September we visited the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport.  I can't believe that I haven't written about our visit already because it seriously was one of the best Museums I've ever been to and this is coming from someone who is planning a return trip to Amsterdam because she fell in love with the Nemo Science Museum, which is another blog post I probably should write soon... Anyway.  The British Lawnmower Museum .

I'm a solitary person by nature, I mean don't get me wrong, people are nice but I like to be alone. I like to have time to do things at my own pace, to potter about and eat when I want and do what I want when I want not having to answer to anyone. I think that I could quite easily live alone and actually, this lockdown period has proved to me that I can make my own amusement, that I don't actually need to go out (apart from to the shop to buy food or pick up medication) and that a walk a day really does make me sleep better each night. I could live in that cabin in the woods with the internet and craft supplies and books and the opportunity to go hiking every day without seeing a soul other than my family. In fact, at times I could also probably cope without my family too... And yet.

One of the worst things anyone can ever say to me is "You decide", which is exactly what someone said to me last month after I'd given them three different poster designs to choose from. If another person hadn't voiced their opinion (which I then rapidly agreed with) then I'd probably still be trying to decide today over a month later. I don't make decisions. Well, that isn't quite true. There are times when I need to make choices and I do that by either following a gut instinct, researching something within an inch of my sanity, working out what is the most logical and rational choice and taking that or buying what my Mum says. Not making decisions is actually really easy.

Lockdown has been amazing for our family because Top Ender has discovered that she is a natural at baking and seeing as in our home we tend to bake using gluten-free flour, no eggs and no dairy it can be hard to get a rise or to make something that tastes good or something that doesn't fall apart as soon as you look at it! Flyfour and I are a little jealous if we're perfectly honest, but as long as Top Ender keeps baking we aren't going to complain. It's hard to complain when you're mouth is filled with a delicious moist brownie! This last week, however, Top Ender did something so amazing that I had to share it to A Showoff and B so I'll remember in the future just how amazing Top Ender is. On my official last day of work before some time off for the Summer, I mentioned to Top Ender as I left for work that I didn't have any lunch packed. I wasn't planning on eating lunch because we were having a Chinese for our evening meal and I was kinda hoping to gorg

Finally, I've finished work for a week or two, so I get to hang out at home... apart from I'm going to go in to work this coming week for a few hours as there is so much to do and I don't want the other person who is helping me to do all the work because I haven't! I really don't mind, however, because I really enjoy my job! For the most part, I can do it without needing help and whilst I'm not saying I'm the worlds best, I'm actually kinda great at it! Anyway, here's what we're eating this week!

I think I'm not the only one feeling a little like it's the end of everything at the minute, and I think that my meal plan for this week reflects that, you'll see there are a lot of "comfort food" dishes on the menu, things that I associate with being safe and happy. In part, I think this ending feeling is because the children finished going to school for the current school year yesterday, partly it is because I've had a bit of a revelation in the last couple of weeks and it's also because I've reached a few milestones this last week with regards to my working life and made a few choices which could potentially be the death of me! I'll explain more in the future once I've digested it all. Anyway, here's what we're eating this week and here's a picture of two beautiful bouquets of flowers I was given from a staff member and a student and her Mum. I was very spoilt!

This is the last week of school, which is weird because obviously for so many children up and down the country they haven't been at school for ages because of the lockdown. It's not the last week of school for me though, because I get to work for a few more days over the next few weeks, but I'm going to make sure that I do get a break somewhere. I think maybe sitting in bed and not doing anything is the way to go forward!

Before Lockdown when I would go to Chuch on the Sabbath day I, along with the other congregants, would partake of the Sacrament. The Sacrament is what most people would think of if I said the Eucharist, a ceremony commemorating the Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed. At the Church I go to, we consecrate and then consume bread and water as we don't drink alcohol and whilst we partake of it we do so remembering when Jesus said that the bread was his body and the water his blood. Partaking of the Sacrament is a really big thing, it's really important and I don't think that before lockdown I really appreciated how important it was to me personally. Whilst I partake of the Sacrament I remember the Atonement and think about how I'm renewing the covenants I have made and as I sit there in the relative silence, I spend time thinking about what I've done in the last week that maybe wasn't quite in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I'm sure that time is playing tricks on us at the moment and running faster and faster each day, as here we are four days into July and it's almost been a year since I got a job and well, there is just a lot that seems to be happening everywhere I turn. Anyway, here's what we are eating this week for our evening meals and hopefully Tops will be making some lovely more puddings for us or for me to take to work to share with my colleagues!