Archives: eve

A few moment before bathtime.
The kids are playing on bikes on the back street one more.
Eve has just passed by on Amber’s tricycle saying, “Hiya dadi, hiya dadi, hiya dadi”. Amber is Hamish’s younger sister. She is a couple of months older than Eve – can’t remember how many. She had foolishly left her tricycle in our yard, & Eve has not removed her bottom from it in about an hour. Heh – she is now telling off Jack for sitting on the wall at the top of the street.
Our excursion to Bradford yesterday was exhausting. We walked many miles in search of a border, & miraculously we found one in the end. At the noted tacky home improvement emporium; Fads. A terracotta coloured border textured, with a spiraling yellow stitch motif. It should work well. Not over decorative, not twee, & hopefully the right sort of colour so that it doesn’t make the rest of the paintwork seem grubby. Phew.
Today I started off inexplicably tetchy. No real reason. Still, got on with getting Eve breakfast & Jack on the Internet while Louise had her shower. Slobbed it a bit when Louise came downstairs, & then Louise got tetchy & started fretting about the fact that we needed to get the back room cleared as the decorators are due this week, so we had to move some things upstairs, but to do that we needed to move some of the things that are in the bedroom at the moment (that used to be in the attic) back up to the attic, but the floor has not been completely cleaned in the attic as yet – so not that much can go back up…
Kids are bathed & bed.
Frayed nerves are I guess understandable. I got on with moving some boxes. Louise started tidying & sorting in the back room, Jack went off to watch & help Caroline, our very good next door neighbour do some planting in her garden & Eve – well – she pottered about amusing herself. It’s amazing that she manages that… Jack used to demand your attention, but then I guess, he being the 1st, we indulged him in that.

After feeling well yesterday – it’s a bummer to feel like I have a phantom hangover today. Phantom as I have done nothing to earn it… sigh… Perhaps feeling fine is too much to ask at the moment.
Hattie is due to return to fix something again today! When she put the new fittings on the bath the other week the waste pipe from the bath was not flush. Noticed that there was a new stain developing on the ceiling, so had a check & discovered this (drips when the bath empties). I tried to fix – screw back on – but I was over tired at the time & just got myself in a bad mood as I could do nothing with it. Tried again a couple of days later & found that it seems the screw threads do not match up… You’d’ve thought that something as universal as screw threads on plumbing pipes would be…universal – the same… but – it seems not… sigh. Perhaps I am missing something here. Whatever, Hattie has to take some time out to look at it again.
Again, there are new stains on the ceiling of the back room… There are so many stains now, it could be mistaken as part of the decor. It does not matter! Hah! they are coming to repaper & paint it all as part of the insurance for the pipe that burst the other month. It is only a week away that they come to start work now – so I guess it’s kinda important that the ceiling actually has time to dry out now…
Jack was in a ‘tidy’ mood when got home last night. Helping & tidying. He can be very industrious when he is in one of these moods & does not like to be put off his stride. For instance I got some water for him, as the water left over from washing up had been poured away – & he was offended & threw it to the floor… I’m not really sure he knew why – it was probably more the fact that the washing up water was poured away that had riled him.
Eve was in a happy – if not slightly clumsy mood. Tired really, as she had not had her daytime nap. She got upset having fallen over badly a couple of times. She is delighting in the use of nouns – picking up on what the names of objects are quite a lot now. She also got herself a sore bum (no sitting down in the bath) by filling her nappy 3 times in @ 1 & half hrs.
Jack was on about his ‘other tod’ again as he was in the bath & going to bed. It seems his washing machine in his other house is broken – it needs some twisty dust. We had a nice discussion about who might come & fix this broken washer for him. I do not recall whether it was to be (other) Hattie or (other) Jill. Anyway – the root of the problem of getting it fixed was the availability of ‘twisty dust’. The charity shop in town did not have any, (this might be the regular source) & the other charity shop didn’t have any either. Interestingly the other charity shop seems to have it’s door on the 2nd floor – so it seems that you get into the shop via a ladder (?). Specialist shops are no good either, it seems as the just don’t have the ‘twisty’ variety of dust…
To burst a bubble here – I think the ‘twisty dust’ may be something that he associates with the Dyson vacuum cleaner we have. The vacuum spins – the washing machine spins…
Did I not mention that Jack has an ‘other tod’ ? (We live in tod – Todmorden). He also sometimes has problems with his ‘little boys’ misbehaving. Whether these are truly imaginary characters or a sort of proxy empathising with us poor parents, I’m not really sure. I don’t know if there is a boy/girl he knows called Sam Waldren, but that is the name of one of his ‘little boys’ (although he may be a she…).

Heh
That last bit of typing yesterday was done by Jack – playing with the eMate while my back was turned. He also turned up the screen contrast, & as it uses an LCD screen, I was a bit confused for a while, with the screen appearing to be blank/dead. I had not realised what he had done, but was not mad – just perplexed as to what was going on as there as nothing that he had done that cold have stopped it working.
Train home.
Ahhhh – got through the day without feeling [bleh – substitute word as appropriate here]. A major improvement of recent & the main reason why I have been writing little for a few days. Headache – aching limbs/joints run down mentally & physically.
Blimey – we must bring out kids up with inordinate amounts of charm. I called in to home before leaving work to discover that Eve has now been given a dolly high chair & tea set by someone else on the street! Sounds like she’s been merrily going between all her new toys all day – lucky thing.
Louise also told me that she will be going for her 1st scan (for new babe) this Thursday – lawks! That all seems a bit soon! They do like to do these things earlier nowadays it seems – although what possible purpose it serves, I have no idea… A bit annoying that I am not going to be able to get time off from work at such a late stage – still – I may try. It is not a good day though as the other lads are not usually in on Thursday morning shift…

Sunday evening after tea – the kids are playing out on the backstreet. Jack on his ‘new’ bike & Eve with a pushchair that Georgina has given her. Hm – the kids have done well this weekend for neighbourly hand-me-downs. Mum & dad got her a pram a while back – but this is a buggy design – she has become instantly attached to it – & as it makes a noise you can here her wheels rattling up & down the street. It has the dolly that she got yesterday from Sophie in it – & she likes that a lot as it has a hat that comes off… & she can take it off & exclaim “Hat! ….HAT!” etc. Jack is jolly interested in what I am doing & breaks off from riding his bike up & down so that he can look at the screen at which I write & try to press a few buttons.
We got Jack the bike yesterday. It’s a second hand one from the local bike shop – but it works better for him than any other bike he had had. An early birthday present. It is sort of obvious it is second hand, but Jack is very pleased & was referring to it yesterday as “new & posh”. Too “new & posh” to allow Kirsten to ride on it initially. She got a look in eventually though through sheer persistence of sneaking up to it whenever Jack was not actually riding it.
Both Jack & Eve have been in a really lovely mood all weekend. Jack especially. Sweet & no grumpyness (in any quantity) what so ever.j yfcderh9iop[;

Spent last Friday night knocking up a new page on my website that would host all my mental meanderings I type on my morning commute. I did actually finish it as well (this is what you are reading!). Was the last of my BBEdit demo application tho. Back to the basics of the ‘lite’ free version… sigh…
Oh, & the pipes sprung a new leak for us… joy. This time’s where the pipes used to go to the old boiler – the stopped end of that bit of piping. Fortunately it’s an easy spot to get to, so a margarine tub has been strategically placed so that any drips can be caught. There is further damage to the ceiling, but as they are coming to repaper it at the end of the month because of the previous damage (work to be paid for by the insurance) then… who cares… I have been turning the water on & off at the stop tap all weekend to minimise the emptying of the margarine tub. Hattie comes today to fix again.
Jack was a ‘coiled spring’ yesterday – ready to go off… He was playing on the computer for the most part, but any provocation & he resorted to slapping. I think I only have myself to blame as he was hitting me earlier in the day as I had told him not to do something (probably as it was either dangerous or silly – I forget now what) & he hit me, so I said don’t (as is annoying) or I’ll have to hit you back. He did not, so I did – & thus the ‘game’ starts there. Sigh.
–Train stops at just past Walsden today – evident why as I look out at some dumb sheep who have got out of the field & are on the line. The driver has to get out of the train to report them. (Bad sheep-naughty sheep – we’ll tell your farmer on you.) Off we go – bye-bye sheep–
Jack & I had a good days work in general though. He woke well, & was in a good mood. He played some kiddie stuff on the Internet (roaming the BBC ‘small kids’ section).
Oog – this is an old train & I don’t think I can type anymore as aside from all the movement making it difficult, it’s making me queasy.
Train home – ‘1st class’ section – nice table to put the eMate on. Yes, well – Jack broke off from the Internet without to any probs so we could go for the seemingly traditional excursion for the supermarket. No histrionics at the cafe :) The afternoon was spent up in the attic – tidying up. It’s still rather a mess. Dust everywhere. The Dyson hoover got a good workout & Both Jack & I got splinters cleaning the floorboards with a damp cloth; he somehow in his leg, me, more normally, in my finger.
Jack like cleaning up – it’s a good game to him.. who are we to argue – heh. He kept going for a good while – essentially as long as I did, & did nothing really untoward or foolish. There was that point when we butted heads re hitting me, but that was out of the attic, & we managed to calm down & get on with things. It was only later, after tea, that the ‘coiled spring’ arose.
Eve spent a lot of the afternoon asleep. She slipped into slumber in the pushchair on the way home. Louise was not feeling great either – sleepy & raging headache – so she took the chance to have a little snooze – leaving Jack & i to get on with things… As I said, a good afternoon’s work. Got a lot cleaned up, but a frightening amount still to clean…
Then cometh the decorating…
After work today I set out for B&Q to get a new set of taps for the bathroom as one of the bath taps is falling to bits (the one I tried to stop dripping last month or so & made matters worse). So, got a chrome set instead of a gold set, as before. Gold bathroom fittings – yuk… They look ‘dirty’ to start with – what a dead (tasteless) loss. All I have to do now is worry about fitting these new ones, dither, put off & call Hattie to ask her nicely if she can fit us in some time to do it.

Train home. Another early night last night. I think I might be starting to get sensible & obeying when I actually feel tired. That means that we got no attic painting done – but nonetheless the will was there, if not the energy.
Still too busy to have updated the web page recently – which is a bit annoying, but if I cannot find the time, I have to concede that there is no time even if my conscience disputes the nature of reality. Damn that reality – it’s so set in it’s ways. I know it keeps a little extra time up it’s sleeve somewhere, but it doesn’t want to tell me about it. Why do you think boredom takes up so much time? It sneaks extra minutes in when you’re not paying proper attention.
Ah, to luxuriate in inane boredom…
Eve has been to the doctors this morning. Just a routine thing as recommended by the health visitor due to our general concerns for her. Jude will also have his chest listened to, as he has an unpleasant cough at the moment. To be honest his cough should have been checked when he had his immunisation jabs last Friday, as I don’t recall him being any better then than he is now. Hopefully there is nothing to worry about in all of this, but a parent naturally worries & lets phantoms of doubt breed.

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