Dear 9-year-old me, It's that time of year again - that time you used to love. The bit in between the pancakes on the Tuesday and the chocolate eggs on the Sunday. The forty days of giving stuff up. Lent. I remember how carefully you decided on the rules each year - no cheating for you, no ...
If you're a campsite person, you'll have had the conversation; the one where you chat with the people in the mobile home across the way about which campsites you've been to and which ones they've been to, and which ones were great and which ones were awful. Who you stayed with, the size of the pools, and ...
If you've done this, you know the drill. Saturday morning is house-viewing morning. Particularly so when the clock is ticking, because the old house is gone. And every time, you get your hopes up. We certainly do. This could be the one. Sure, it's not quite the location we want, and it looks a little cramped ...
"Mum, it's your engagement anniversary!" my eldest announced when she came in from school this afternoon. I hadn't realised it was my engagement anniversary and it's not something we (or I suspect anyone) celebrates - though I'm thinking of bring that in, because to be honest February could use all the help it can get. "So what will ...
My laptop and I are in a coffee shop for lunch. It's a little bit because there's no fresh bread at home, and a little bit because it's good to get out. I'm grumpy, because my soup came with toasted sourdough. I could have toasted my not-fresh bread at home. Sourdough feels like an excuse for not-fresh ...
One night a few years ago, I was out for dinner with a group of mums from the school (this bunch - I still miss them). One woman who is particularly wise and funny and interesting to talk to was telling us about a book she'd just read. A book about the life changing magic ...
The Last Full Day It's our last day. Yesterday was our last time doing school pickup and coming back to this house, the same house we've come home to every day since they started school. I didn't say it as we pulled into the driveway. The kids have been so sad about leaving, they didn't need ...
New Year's Morning. 8 am. My youngest arrived in for a chat, a few jokes, then went down to watch TV. 8:05 am. He came back up to tell me there's nothing on TV. Sadly, I couldn't find my magic wand - the one that makes new films appear on the Sky Box and on Netflix - ...
My eyes water. Wind, sharp and stinging, pushes my hood down and drives me back. I lean in, but not in a Sheryl Sandberg way. I've got 58 minutes and five tasks. Stocking fillers. A fancy gift box. A Secret Santa pick-up. Stamps. A book. Dark shapes huddle under hoods, rushing in all directions, maybe ...
Last week I wrote about the books my kids loved this year - 28 recommendations from my kids to yours - so this week I thought I'd post about the books I loved in 2018. There are lots of "best books" newspaper articles and blog posts at the moment, and at first I thought about trying ...