24 September 2014

Been off ill the last few days. Back in the saddle again. Picture update!

Standing in our bedroom - F was having fun yesterday screaming and listening to the echoes in the big empty space - then spinning round and round til she fell over.

One wall still to go up in F's room, but it give a good idea of the space around the stairs.

The bathroom has walls!

The hall above the staircase

The hall from our bedroom

F is standing in the doorway of the 'dressing room' that will also be used for painting/sewing/storage etc.

And a bonus- the two apples produced by my garden this year. I think I know why they threw the golden apples now - honestly look so good I've been saving them for a treat. 

21 September 2014

We have stairs!  This is where the hole in the ceiling was last week.

A new use for my beautiful cabinet as it doesn't fit the bathroom!

Beautiful day out the back upstairs windows. This will be a view from our bedroom when it's done.

Here's looking at our dormer window from F's window.

Carlton Hill zoomed in

Arthur's Seat zoomed in

We asked for a velux window in our attic room last week - whee!

taking shape - looking down towards the other set of windows in our room.

They all look the same now without walls but this will be the bathroom

This will be Fs room

View from the top of the new staircase - boards on the ceiling and floor outline where internal walls will go.

Stairs as you come in.

The electrian hung the new light over the top of the stairs which makes a big difference in the light as you come into the flat!

So things are progressing. I was ill this weekend, but all things in perspective, things are good.

17 September 2014

It's been a bit of an epic roller coaster emotion week (again). Bewildered is a good word. Anchored in the storm.

Monday:
Fantastic day off work, though it did mist and spit all day. Took a bike ride with H and her boys. F had a great time and it was so good to have a change. She got all worn out after lunch and a walk, she was literally asleep in the saddle - even when I took her off the bike and sat her on the porch step while I put the bike away she kept sleeping. Poor little potato.
Then we went out and found a cabinet that will fit in the bathroom (it better!!) Pictures forthcoming.
S had a big day at work and then went over to P's to do some app stuff. Poor guy finally got home about 10:30 / 11?

Tuesday
Rubbish sleep as F woke in the night with ear ache. Kicking myself for takin her out in the weather. Ibprofin and heating pad at 2:30am ('that's much better mommy.' *melting) woke up spiffy as you please and decided to chance it at nursery. Late for work though as took longer making decision.
Called by the nursery at 3 pm to pick up little pumpkin who woke up pale and unusual from her nap. Dropped everything, raced across town, mentally berating myself for leaving her. Then, she promptly started running and chasing other kids as we left. Visit to the pharmacy, crashed into the doctor's office without making an appointment, doctor gave an antibiotic ear spray for an outer ear infection. Trying to persuade her to take the strawberry flavored paracetamol! Bright side is we were able to fill her heart med prescription as we were already going to the doctor and pharmacy. So one less thing to worry about.
Builders wrote asking for more money before latest project done. Classroom teacher wrote from one of my schools saying a students been complaining about the music I assigned and questioning my methods.  S late and no idea when hed be home. About to actually cry. Called my friend H about community group and told her wed try to come but things were tight and asking for lots of prayers for wisdom.
Picked up S from work and drove through McDonald's. Long talk about building work and F in bed no trouble.

Wednesday
Drove to wrong school in morning - oops.
First 2 kids absent and very glad to have time to practice and process before having to teach!

But feeling calmer after talking to simon - he always is able to talk perspective into me. And praying for grace. And felicity seems better though she didn't sleep great last night.

School bell ringing. Next!

10 September 2014

 Wednesday morning F saw 'the very pretty beautiful dress' in the wardrobe.
She wore it all day long.
Even to nursery and the library. Then we found some unicorns in a princess castle.

 

10 September 2014

Yes. That's the kitchen ceiling. 

The rest of my day has been okay though.

6 September 2014

Cabinet delivered and sanding begun

Next round of sanding

First coat of gray eggshell paint. Normally don't like the painted wood affect, but since this is going in a bathroom, I think it will work.

This morning - dormers framed out on the front of house.

In other news, also found a light fitting after what felt like a wild goose chase today. Going to put the next coat of paint on the cabinet later if I can stay awake that long! Life going in fast forward these days. Need to re-record the theme music for the app and clear a path through building stuff to the back yard. Tomorrow we have to go to the carpet place and secure a deposit for the sale price of our carpet.  Also a new set up at church as we're moving the service upstairs and the Sunday school downstairs.
Sitting in F's room in the dark in the rocking chair. Listening to 3rd movement of Mozart horn concerto and F snoring. I sit here with a cuppa and my phone letting her fall asleep while I catch up on correspondence, admin, Facebook, etc. But often enjoy sitting here a little longer than I actually need to as is so nice and quiet. Time to reenter reality? Probably. 

6 September 2014

Photos from yesterday

Dropped Daddy off and work and sat in Starbucks with Mom and Belle

F and R freaking out having so much fun at the museum

Love the tongue

S and F playing in the recycled rubber sandpit looking for dinosaur bones 

They had flippers for the kids to dress up with- 

how cool is that?

Overlooking the animal gallery from the top floor

Ha!

5 September 2014

All Day Date

Museum. Walk home. Nap in pram. Delivery with 0 waiting time, so out the door again. Lost Belle doll walking home
:-(((((( guilt.
Called all the clintons in Edinburgh trying to find a replacement (F realised 'Belles on the STREET?! I want Belle!!!') Found the same doll at argos for home delivery. Managed to calm F down telling her that Belle was safe. She was gone to the castle on holiday, but mommy had called Postman Pat to bring her home.
Felt bad not being able to find the dear old doll, told myself she's just become real a little sooner than we thought she would.
Looking for light fixture for stairs took us to OT this afternoon. Didn't find a light, but on a whim decided to check out movie listing for how to train your dragon 2. It was starting like the same minute we checked.  Complete impulse, took F to the movies! She did super! Then we we went and shared a chicken burger at a fancy burger restaurant.  F was pretending to be a dragon I think. She wasn't talking as much as she usually does,  but making big significant eyes at me and lots of slinKing around. Home. Bath. Pj's. Goodnight moon. Milk. F in bed. Cup of tea.
Now to find a light fixture, sand and varnish my cabinet and practice before bed. Awesome day.
Oh yeah, Simon is out at work night out which is why I spent the latter half of the afternoon totally skiving at the movies!
Hmmm...I need riobos tea.

3 September 2014

Last night there was the kick-off of the Community Groups at GCL.  We meet up at the community space at Ocean Terminal, which is a black-box type of room right next to the anchor store Debenhams on the 2nd floor.  I left the house as soon as Felicity was settled.  About 11 of us had a little study and prayer and then decided to head up to the Handmade Burger Co. for milkshakes.  Dude, the peanut butter milkshake was great!  Praying together was actually better.  And though I left the house completely drained from the day, I went home almost feeling happy to the point of silliness.  I spoke to K about venues of childhood education, to S about a new book edition his company is transcribing from an original text from the 1600s (and took the liberty of inviting myself to their office sometime to gush over the manuscripts like a typical American tourist), to A about changing goalposts in the SQA exams and we all laughed when A's food took longer than anyone elses' to arrive - the trade off was that the kitchen had made an extra one accidentally and gave us the extra ice cream sundae! 

Today has been a very typical Wednesday and aside from a few derivations.

 For example, I took F to nursery at school instead of our shared babysitter's house.  She likes being at nursery, but I was thrilled this afternoon when I opened the door, eyes searching her out everywhere, and as soon as she saw me back, she trilled, 'MOMMY Mommy!!  It's my mommy!  It's MY mommy!!' and she practically danced over to me and gave me the biggest hug.  She hadn't had a nap, so I carried her back to the car and as we walked, I was asking her about her day.  'Did you have a good day at nursery?  What did you do?'  And I had to laugh when she returned with something like, 'Mommy, you had a, Mommy have, Mommy you have a ood day A wurk?'  And though the day was tiring, at that moment, it didn't matter and I just laughed, 'Yes, thank you, I did.  But I'm much better now because I was missing you!'  And she kept asking, 'Mommy?' 'Yes honey?' 'Mommy?' 'Yes?' 'Mommy?' 'Yes?' Mommy?' 'Are you just trying to say hello, sweetie?' 'Yes mommy.'

She's taken to asking 'What's that?' whenever she sees someone she doesn't know in the corridor.  So a lady, or a janitor, or another little kid walks by us. 'Mommy, what's DAT?' 'Who's that, sweetie.' 'Who Dat, mommy?' 'It's another lady, I don't know her name.' 'Its a Nano ladee.  Not no ur name.'

One of the back dormers on the house was finished today and we can see where they have started prepping the last one.  Whew - the house is a bit like a spot-the-difference game from when we leave in the morning to when we get home.

I was intending to go to bed early tonight and it is past 10:30pm again already.  Blame it on pinterest, facebook, and too much on my mind!  Thankfully, F has been sleeping much better the last couple of weeks.  Only one or two night wakings in so many weeks!  I will get spoiled.

2 September 2014

Life happens in time at the weekends sometimes.

Monday morning, ready to go to nursery.

En route to the 'Tanics on Sunday

She went tearing after the unfortunate squirrel you can just spot in the right-hand side of this photo.

Cheesy grin

Espalier apple trees

Studying how to prune them so I can cut mine back before next year.

'Charge!'

My upside-down!

We're going to paint stones to look like ladybugs in our garden too.  Sometime.

The elusive harp pavilion I hadn't seen before.

Don't worry mom, they have a glass roof over it.  Still in the open air though!

Apparently made out of a wych elm that died and had to be felled in the garden.

Unfortunately, advice probably wet shade, rather than the dry shade they have in TX.

Oh and that reminds me, I turned on BBC4 this afternoon after work and heard MY accent.  Well, actually, it was more like my grandparents, but as soon as I heard it, I knew it was from Texas.  They did a program on the affects of the draught on farmers in Texas ('costing the earth' was the program's name, I think.)  I listened in, aurally drinking up all the slow, easy sounds and the rhythm of the speech.  Got to the other side of town without really seeing my route at all!  Was so pleased when they confirmed my suspicions and said they were actually recording from TX.