Pictures not to show the Social Services.

Ken was playing with tools and naturally Angus had to join in . Only Ken being Ken didn't just give Angus toy tools. Oh no, Angus got to play with the real thing - hammer and nails, sharp and potentially lethal saw and so on.


Hammering in nails in the style of Harvey the Carpenter. He is a Swedish beaver and the star of one of Angus's favourite book sets. He does all these cool things involving DIY and teaches you how to do them at the same time. Harvey bangs a nail in to some wood. It bends and then...

Yank! He pulls it out with a pair of pliers. How many times did Ken have to do this? I have no idea but it kept them both out of my hair while I cooked dinner!



The above is further evidence of why Ken doesn't want to change our distasteful carpet. He feels it acceptable to saw wood on it as it vacuums up clean and he feels vindicated. They were making a shelf to go in my under-sink cupboard - finally! Sadly it did all vacuum up cleanly. Maybe one day it won't...

Little Drummer Boy

As you can tell, we have the photos up and running at last and I am catching up!

Ever since Angus went to stay in America when he was 15 months old, he has had a bit of an obsession with drumming. This is not just a toddler obsession with banging things, this has developed into a sophisticated imitation of a real drum kit - all thanks to his cousin Evan. I hold Evan solely responsible, although unwittingly, for quite a lot of damage in our house. You see, Evan has a real, bit, loud drum kit and he allowed Angus to play it, when he was 15 months old and again last Christmas. Add to that a real, big, loud drum kit in church to fantasize over every week, and we have all that is needed for an obsession. All that is required for this to become reality are two hairbrushes (both damaged beyond use, just as well I now have short hair!), and a bathroom. Seriously, this is not bathroom furniture, but called: drum, tomtom, and cymbal. Just ask him! And he sings as he plays. How cute is that?

Scrapping - and not the GBH kind!

I thought that I had better keep some of you who are interested up to date with what I have been doing scrapping wise, and deal with the surprised looks and comments from some others of you!

Yes, I am a fully paid up and resourced scrapper. That means that I dream about layouts, sing hymns in church and think, "I really like the lyrics to that one and can think of several photos that I could use to express how I feel about the beauty of creation (seriously, last week!)." It also means that Granny, bless her cotton socks, gets to spend an afternoon a week looking after Angus so that I get some peace and can scrap without him shouting, "Angus stamp too!" as he picks up my ink pads or paper cutter. It also means that I have a never ending list of "Wanteds" every time that it is the sort of occasion when I may be given presents. It's just that they are a little limited, specialised and frequently have to be ordered via Margaret from America. It also means that I look at life wanting to savour the moments as they happen, take pictures of them and make pages that I can look at later and remember the joy, the thing that Angus, Ken or someone else said and how much fun we had.

I have put below a few of the pages that I have made from Angus's album. I realise that I am not up to date, but who cares. It's better than not having an album at all, and I can "catch up" later. I just enjoy making the pages and Angus loves looking at his book. That's all that matters. I have also put on a couple of cards that I have made.

Yes, I am the last person to ever have thought that I would take up scrapbooking, but I really do enjoy it. Hope you do too.






Don't you just hate our carpet? Yes, that is our lounge carpet and I loathe it, but Ken really has a point: it doesn't show any dirt - or anything else that you might drop on it for that matter! And, no, we didn't choose it. It was here when we moved in - five years ago! Sadly it is a wool carpet and won't be wearing out in the near future. Could Angus damage it somehow? Please...


This was Ken's Valentine's Day card, and I like it so much that I made a similar one for a friend's wedding....

There, I have confessed. I feel better now.

Where are we up to?

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat frustrating - to say the least. Sadly we have a very talented computer chap down the road. He is only 18 but is rather too good at PC-Botox (I love that expression Margaret!) and has managed to get Aged PC up and running on Linux, albeit in a somewhat eccentric fashion and as yet not able to talk with my camera in a way that will enable me to down load photos onto Blogger. I have been reassured that this will be coming sometime soon. We also now have had to move Aged into the lounge as it really is too depcrepit to talk via wireless to the outside world and I am not having cables wondering around the stairway being a safetly hazard, or having Angus upstairs in the spare room watching DVDs which is where Aged used to live. Since it does work and is able to function in a way that has enabled me to put down the sledgehammer (only to the side of the computer so that it can be picked up again when needed, when I am so tired that frustration gets in the way, or too hormonally charged that anything gets in the way!), husband is now safe from, what-itcide?: there has to be an expression for the murder of one's husband, there is for most other things. Suggestions may be quite amusing on this front! Sadly, I also won't be getting a new all singing, all number crunching lights flashing speedy PC or laptop.

Other than that, things are going okay. Angus has tonsilitis at the moment and has a temperature of 104f/40c but fortunately is really good about taking his penicillin and paracetamol. It does help that UK kids' drugs are yummy and fruity and not foul tasting like the German ones we had to give him before. He keeps falling asleep and wanting to be held most of the time. Yesterday he slept for 4 hours in the afternoon, but woke whenever I tried to take him off my lap. He still asked to go to bed at his normal time and slept through till 8.00 this morning. He is currently asleep on the sofa - it's almost like having a small baby again!

Also, the snow has now mostly gone, but we did get to go ice climbing! Yes, ice climbing in the UK. I will have to show you the pictures when I can. You can see a couple of them on the Buxton Team site (follow the link from this site), news and articles section from February 8th. We also went to the Lake District last weekend and spent and wild, windy night sleeping in the Priest's Hole cave in Dove Crag (google it!). There was still quite a lot of snow around up there and I can't show you any of the pictures but you will just have to believe me.

Slide show to follow - someday. Now, will I wake Angus if I use the sledgehammer right now?

Don't You Sometimes HATE computers?

I mentioned in a previous post that our laptop had died. Ken and his cronies at work have attempted to upgrade the PC so that we can use that. That would be okay except that he has now attempted to change away from all things Microsoft and convert Aged PC to Linux. This has led to major heartache for Aged PC and me. Aged PC was never designed to take Linux and is not really too sure what is happening to it and keeps throwing its OAP version of a rattle out of its Zimmer Frame. Consequently, I have only occasional access to the Internet, much frustration when I can't get access or even turn the computer on because the last thing he did to it didn't quite work, and am trying to be gracious to Hubby while simultaneously wanting him to give me my PC back and STOP FIDDLING! IT WAS FINE! Okay, so granted Windows 98 is unstable BUT I DON'T CARE - LEAVE IT ALONE!

Rant over. I will try to get back to blogging when I have a stable computer, access to pictures and my stress levels have reduced.

Now, smile.....