April chat for locals

[mellow2]

New thread for new month!

with gadgets

Exactly sfx. Although it was a joint decision for me to stop (paid) work, and for the most part I am very happy with the way things are, having been initally the sole earner, supported dh through law school, paid the deposit on our first home and had a substaincial income to my name, it has been quite difficult to adapt to all the money coming into the home being from dh's income. I know it is "our" money and dh wouldn't degrudge or prevent me from spending (within reason obviously) it doesn't feel quite the same when you haven't "earnt" it.

Well the rain/hail/thunder etc seems to have stopped for the moment, no doubt to return at 3pm just in time for the school run!

i typed a big long response about everything being relative and not being riled by comments etc etc etc and my laptop stuffed it up

CoV, I kinda empathise with the money thing and it's easy to just dismiss that with a "oh you're working at home as much as DH is at office etc". I really hope your cake business makes you some money and that you spend some, if not all, on yourself!!

Thanks for the well wishes, I have tonsilitis and I feel steam rollered. Went for new passport eysterday with my lovely passport photos taken in the city last week. bloody jobsworth rejected them and sent me to get new ones. so, coming down with tonsilitis and not having had time to shower I look shockingly bad in my new 10yr passport

got to the Dr this morning and already started on the ABs. Prob best that Utah is a dry state lol, mind you i should have finished the course by my return flight. I got the project to agree to a small budget to buy an upgrade if I am able to so finger's x'd.

am still house hunting, the move is pretty much 100% on. With dd PV'ing at CM's last week adn DM having to drive down to collect her, me being ill and having to come to office as DM at home with DD today etc etc are all contributing factors in my decision to go closer to GPs.

Just had a major thunderclap and lightening srike here in the city too.

Hi all

Just popping on while DS having a rare nap and GP's been fed and watered. Hope you feel better soon PC. How is househunting going?

Will have catch up at some point so hope everyone else well, boy, you lot can certainly chat, only been away a few days

IL visit going surprisingly well, mainly I think MIL has just accepted DS doesn't like her much and rather than her running upstairs crying/getting upset she's been fine with it this time so no awkwardness for anyone.

Might try bunny farm tomorrow am at last if anyone lese fancies it. Slng - pls remind me how I get there without getting lost?

Oh dear SJ re: MIL.

My MIL used to think that dd didn't like her because dd only understood Chinese and MIL speaks English.

I think dd has taken to all 4 of her GPs now though which is better for my sanity as I was at the end of the tether with all the "poor granddaughter doesn't understand me speaking English" comments.

SJ - do you mean bunny park? No farms of bunnies there! Anyway assuming you've got a map - the trick is to follow church road off the Uxbridge road all the way to the bitter end, where you'll see a (quite pretty) church and there's a car park across from the church.
Try this map which has "zoo" conveniently marked out.

Hi everyone!

I'm around, Ros. Just can't keep up with this thread any more.

I still work in the same place. Still hate it. Have a second interview on Tuesday, so things may be looking up. Or they may off me a pittance and I'll stay at the job I hate.

Went to Chicago with DD and DS a couple weeks ago. Had a nice time, but it was way too short. My brother and my nephew have been called up for duty in Iraq. Nephew is 19 and it is his first time out there. He left his pregnant new wife behind . Third tour of duty there for my brother. He'll be working on the pipelines (oil) which I am a tad uneasy about.

And that's about it for me.

Sorry I haven't been around. I just can't keep up with this thread, but I do want to come to the May night out if I can.

You can usually find me over on the nanny threads.

SJ my IL are quite nice and I do like them generally speaking, but they are both very critical people, not for the faint hearted.

about dd MIL told me last Christmas 'it is so nice now because she is what I would call a normal child, not a scaridy cat flinching when we went to pick her up'
ffs they only see her 2-3x a year.

dd also needs school asap to improve her social skills. yep nod and smile ignore

AN - best of luck with the interview and here is hoping the tours of duty go as well as possible and they return to their families safely.

That's perfect, thanks Slng!

Yes I've been lucky that I have IL's that I really like but in the past I think MIL took it personally when DS didn't want to go sit with or engage her (he's definitely a man's man apart from being with mummy) and she would get v. upset and then is not v. easy to deal with. She seems much better at laughing things off this week.

Sfx & mellow - IL comments truly never cease to amaze me

AN - echo what SFX says, hope duty goes well and all the best for interview

Athena,
That must be hard for your nephew. I hope the tour of duty goes well and they both return home safely to their families.

Hi all,
Quick pop in to say SFX - Found a cute little dress shop in Brentford high street today called Butterfly - it had lots of lovely summery dresses in the window 1950's style but I'm not sure of the prices as I was driving past - its a few doors down from the Magpie & Crown pub opposite the Tile Co.
ciao x

We've baked about 60 cookies! Next time a recipe says "a truckload" I'll believe it ...

slng - was that from the Observer baking with kids? I do believe I did that once
dh took some to work and made some friends

atm i have a permanent soundtrack in the background of the THOMAS dvd, she does not want the episodes just the theme tune looping, am off to the kitchen to listen to the news, blessed reief

thanks Lau

Paddle, get well soon - tonsilitis is horrendous - are you well enough to fly? Sing we, too, have baked about 60 cookies this afternoon! Was a Nigella recipe, they are always somewhat over the top. I had a leaf through the Observer pull-out that SFX mentioned, but we didn't have the right ingredients for anything! Have just had a Fry's choc orange cream - yum! Wish I was coming on the night out tomorrow Off now to bath ds and then probably all asleep in front of some crap telly ...

Cookie recipe from the guardian guide to baking which I must say is the best for bread so far. Dan Lepard has usurped Heston Blumenthal's place as my hero! We are visiting a lot in the next couple of days and will take cookies with us. Nothing like butter, is there? I was thinking my home-made bread smells so nice when toasted and then realised that's because it's probably got about a ton of butter in it ...

that is it the Guardian one the basic cookie dough and variations are yum, am yet to try the breads, usually dh's domain.

that is it the Guardian one the basic cookie dough and variations are yum, am yet to try the breads, usually dh's domain.

So no one missed me then?

SJ well done sorting your mortgage. Did you get a fixed, tracker or SVR?

KC still PMSL at your comment about wearing a skirt on each leg in Japan conjurs up a very funny picture!!

Paddle am so very that you are moving away but you need to what is best for you and DD.

CoV IKWYM about your DH. They just kind of assume Mum will arrange all the stuff to do with the Dcs don't they? I am married and Work and there is nil chance of me getting away. Don't think I'll be going to France with book club

Ros did you get your holiday 8 page pull out today? Where are you going to put as your five choices?

We are looking at Brittany, Cornwall, IoW or the place we went to before Croix Du View Pont, which was beautiful At least you can still avoid school hols, unlike us

Hi foxie, we did indeed get the form. Feel quite at buying the Sun every day! We're going to stay in the UK this time & have put Devon, Weymouth, Rye, Somerset & Great Yarmouth as our options. I think the dates we have chosen are the June & Sept ones so fingers crossed we'll get something!

Am that I missed the Guardian baking section. Having said that, I'm still not used to baking in a fan oven, nothing's come out right yet.

Ros - fan ovens are great! I did have trouble getting anything right in one of the previous flats we lived in but now suspect the oven was dodgy. Not to say your oven is dodgy, of course!

sfx - only tried the carrot-parsnip-rosemary bread and the wholemeal bread (actually went and bought vitamin C pills) and the pitta bread and they all work brilliantly. I'm going to do the multigrain one soon, having bought an enormous bag of pumpkin seeds. Maybe one day I'll even be brave enough to do pastry. Isn't that just so domestic! There's also the ginger cookie from one of the weekend magazine columns by Dan Lepard and that one is seriously good and fun to make as kids get to squish dough onto sesame seeds. Oh no I sound so domestic. Is that bad?

Hi foxie so what have you been up to lately?

ros I quite like fan ovens, have completely lost the skills for using gas ones, but fan I find are more even but you need to lower the heat for most things.

slng there is a coffee cake opposite the cookie recipe that I am dying to try. must bake some bread this weekend.

hmm, maybe I've got the heat too high then? Everything tends to come out crispy on top but still quiet doughy/raw in the middle. I really miss gas ovens!

quite

good morning all

Ros yes that may well be the problem if the recipe just gives one temp I would lower it by about 20 degrees and keep an eye.

dd woke up earlier than usual and kept whacking me with a book until I properly opened my eyes, although she was just reading it next to me

morning all - and Foxie - I need to email you will do it in a moment.

just had a phone call from dh (I'm in work early so he is sorting LOs) as I said to dd2 to ask dh for some medicine for her sore throat, he rings me up and asks me "what medicine do I give her?". As we only have Calpol wouldn't you expect it to be that? Mind you we're having a dinner party tonight and he is doing all the food so I can't complain.