I Think You’re Bonkers

Remember this? And this?

Remember November 2005?  Kris, you realise I blame you for this…..

Well, in Nov ‘05 I started writing The Portal Between. It just kinda grew as I wrote at that mad NaNo pace of 2,000 words a day. It was fun. Some friends read it and liked it. Someone (Kris again I think! It’s all her fault dontcha know…) said why don’t you send it off to a publisher and see what happens. I suspect she might have been getting fed up with me at the time. But I did it anyway and once I’d sent it once I couldn’t just stop now could I? So it’s been doing the rounds of publishers and agents since last summer. I’ve been collecting rejection letters.

Then a week ago I got a call from Only Women Press.

After over an hour on the phone, we talked about writing, running your own business, home ed, homeopathy, growing veggies, flying, driving, being female, feminism, single motherhood…. Anyway, after a very long chat on the phone L (woman on other end) wants to secure my first (of 4) book for them. It’s not a full on publishing contract yet but it’s a start. She is sending out some legal bumf for me to sign that will restrict me from sending it out anywhere else for a while. This gets her the time she needs to look at it more carefully and we can do some editing work together. 

  but ….

The one word meme

Answer all questions using only 1 word

1. Where is your cell phone? here.
2. Relationship? No.
3. Your hair? Long.
4. Work? Ethicstrading.
5. Your sister? Witchy!
6. Your favorite thing? kids.
7. Your dream last night? Umm.
8. Your favorite drink? Tea.
9. Your dream car? Hybrid.
10. The room you’re in? Lounge.
11. Your shoes? Wellies.
12. Your fears? many.
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Rich.
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? friends.
15. What you’re not good at? Waiting.
16. Muffin? Chocolate.
17. One of your wish list items? Chocolate!
18. Where you grew up? Wiltshire.
19. The last thing you did? dug.
20. What are you wearing? t-shirt.
21. What aren’t you wearing? Bra!
22. Your pet. piggy.
23. Your computer? essential.
24. Your life? ’s ok.
25. Your mood? WOOHOO.
26. Missing? Someone
27. What are you thinking about right now? kids.
28. Your car? Ripley.
29. Your kitchen? messy.
30. Your summer? Garden.
31. Your favorite colour? Green.
32. When is the last time you laughed? NOW.
33. Last time you cried? Dunno.
34. School? Yes.
35. Tag? Kris…..

Yesterday and today I’ve had to keep busy, I’ll tell you why in a couple of days I hope. Or maybe not.

Yesterday the living room had the floor cleared and hoovered. The kitchen had the floor cleared, hoovered and mopped.

So, the front grass got mowed. The edges got trimmed and the kids pulled some weeds from the drive. We filled the green bin to overflowing and stuck it out to be collected tomorrow.

Then we attacked the back garden. The rest of the veg plot by the shed is dug over and the last few spuds are in. The biggest of the first lot got earthed up. The shelves from the old mini greenhouse thing (we have the frame from a couple of years ago) have been straightened and put back together. Now they’re occupied by plants, which means the garden table is getting cleared. The ex bramble patch is being cleared too. Quick lesson in recycling. Stones, bricks and concrete in one pile please so we can use that to wall in some raised beds. Anything that might rot down in another pile so we can refill the green bin after the bin men have been tomorrow. Other rubbish in a third pile for filling up the grey bin when we can. The green bin pile is MASSIVE and very prickly. The stones isn’t much smaller.

I’ve sewed on Dino’s first Beaver badges - although I’m not sure what they are for and neither is he. But they’re on and he’s happy. I’ve cut out some soap nut bags and I’m about to go make them up. I also tore apart last nights chicken carcass and made soup.  Shame I didn’t think to put the bread maker on really. Ah well, can’t all be perfect.

It’s a glorious day, sun is shining, birds are singing. Guinea pigs are happily mowing the back lawn. Kids are happily playing/working in the ex bramble patch. Dino wants to claim that end of the garden for his own. Wonder how difficult it would be to move his playhouse? 

Oh and my email is broked. Should be fixed by tomorrow morning.  

Right, sewing, heating and eating followed by baths, story and bed for tired grubby kids. After that I can settle down to watch the repeat of Dr Who.  

No, not the novel yet. That is still doing the rounds of publishers. I’ll be squealing when that comes out and you’ll hear me from wherever you are.

I’m on several pages in Imperfectly Natural Baby and Toddler by Janey Lee Grace.  If you see a copy check out pages 26, 27 and 111. There are other mentions but those are the big bits.

My complimentary copy landed on the mat this morning. I’m well chuffed. 

We’ve been planting. I got peas in between the surviving rose bushes/climbers. I got a tub of salad with a tomato in the middle and some lettucey leafy stuff round the edges. I put in a few more spuds. The first lot are looking nice and green now. I’m looking at the soil and thinking that looks lively and crumbly after all that rain…..

I got a hanging basket with an assortment of flowery stuff in it. Two of them are nasturtiums, there might be lobelia, pansies and something unidentifiable (guess who forgot to label the seedlings properly) But it’ll be pretty.  So, I watered it all in, roots need to settle and all that. Dino spots water draining from hanging basket and sticks a bucket underneath - so we can use the water again!

 I like his thinking.

Oh we did reading and writing too and jigsaws, started making a volcano, fitted new wipers on the car, went shopping.

Oh aye and last week was spinning at home ed group…

Anyone else blogged this?

Councils in England are being reminded that parents have the right to educate their children at home if they wish.

Proposed Department for Education and Skills guidelines on "elective home education" stress that education is compulsory but schooling is not.

Councils should offer support to home educators, and parents must see that their children are suitably educated.

But the authorities have no right to enter people’s homes or make routine checks on children’s progress.

Sounds good to me. 

Some pics….

Remember the brambles?  That space is bigger than I thought.

Then on Weds this week our HE group met up at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.  

 Much dressing up and fun was had. Not many pics came out though. Sorry!

This is the end of our garden.

The bit past the fence. It’s a mess. It’s just an overgrown junk heap. There’s a chair in there, a lawnmower, large lumps of concrete and who knows what else.  In front of the fence is our small patch of strawberries and some overlong grass. The grass got cut the other day after this was taken - looks loads better now.

So today I chucked Dino over the fence to undo the screws holding the fence panel in. The we lifted it out and started hacking down the jungle…..

It’s over his head, almost over mine. I’m sure it’s a wildlife haven. But the kids want chickens, I want to grow more and both kids, but Dino in particular, need the expanse of grass for racing about like idiots. We filled the green (council composting/recycling) bin with sticks, brambles and other vegetation from in there. That bin gets collected next Monday so we can build up a pile to fill it again after that. It’s only collected once a fortnight though so this might take a while. We also 2 thirds filled the black bin (Non compostable, into land fill) with plastic, polystyrene and other cack we found in there. But I need some space in that bin for household stuff, and it won’t be emptied for 2 weeks.

We moved the compost bin too. Emptied it out and shoved it at the back of the shed. Then refilled it with old stuff we took out, it needs filling up again now. The compost from the very very bottom was gorgeous! Crumbly, almost black and the smell!! Fabulous, so that went on top of the horse poo along the fence….. Did I mention the horse poo? No? A friend with horses brought me a nice box full, a large barrow loadish. The offer is there to return the box for a refill, as many times as I want.

Oh and the first of our potatoes are just through. That is my hand, for a sense of scale. They’re small but lovely.

I’m sure all this is educational? Isn’t it? Well, I’m learning loads and it’s certainly helping with Dino’s confidence to be wielding secateurs while wearing purple gardening gloves!