Just Jo!

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I like all things froggy.
I collect froggy things.
I needed new knickers.
We went to Primark.
They’ve got froggy knickers!
For £1.50!!
I am a happy woman!!

That was Monday. I’m sure other things happened as well, but I was too busy waving my knickers in the air.

Olivia broke two bottles of sauce in the fridge….
“It’s not my fault!”
“Um….perhaps if you opened the fridge in a normal manner, and not yank it open in the hopes of scaring any fridge monsters into complete submission, sauce bottles wouldn’t then leap out in a Hari Kari style….”
“Why are they even in the fridge anyway??”
“It says on the label, ‘Once open, refrigerate.’ I’m guessing the fridge will do a better job than the cupboard.”

We’ve also eaten things again…
Jam sandwiches.

Jam on toast.

Jam tarts. But they were eaten too quickly to get a snap.
We like our blackberry jam.
More things made with blackberries, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen via Eleanor, and then veganised quite easily.

Some of us, needless to say who mind, may possibly have been eating too many blackberries….

We’ve been attending various workshops of one kind or another….

Think the most popular with the two of us was gargoyle making and brass rubbing at the Cathedral. Especially as I got to have a go too!
Also think that was the day we made a wondrous discovery in Sainsbury’s, whilst hunting our picnic down….

Oh, ’twas indeed good!!

We found a moth in the back garden, maybe not as cute as the hedgehog, but still quite impressive none the less….

From this point on you may notice a distinct lack of pictorial reportage….

Friday, we had Lisa’s girls for the afternoon. We picked them up, stocked a picnic hamper with Lidl’s goodies ( a picnic hamper that looked remarkably like two Lidl’s plastic bags….), headed up into the hills, plonked ourselves down on a rug and stuffed ourselves silly with said feast. Then meandered down to a free fun day by way of more paddling in the panny, ’til all four girls were convinced they were being sucked dry by leeches and came squealing out.
Fun day included juggling, hoop spinning, free drinks and biscuits, throwing beanbags, building a tower, skipping, plate spinning, parachute games, oh and art, but none of the girls did that. They all had a go at building the highest tower possible out of giant dominoes to win a prize of a T-shirt. Three of them managed it. But not D. Who sulked. Because her sisters had both won one, “I never win anything! They always do!!” So Olivia donated hers in order that all three sisters would then have the same. Blimey, sign of maturity in daughter!
Nice chat with Lisa before they all scarpered off for the weekend.
Our weekend yesterday started off gloriously with a train and bus trip down to Brixham to meet up with some friends. I’d printed off another Treasure Trail (more of a murder mystery though), the first clue being right at the bus stop as we stepped off the bus. So we got going with it straight away. The trail took us past the Golden Hind, so we made a detour to step onboard. Then our friends phoned as soon as we stepped off again, so we finished the rest of the trail with them.

*** SPOILER ALERT***

Just in case you ever feel the urge to do the same trail….

Marilyn Edwards poisoned a local trawler man, Rod Fisher!!!
Awful woman….

Olivia and Elliot (he’s two) bonded big time, with Elliot holding Olivia’s hand at every opportunity and doing what ever she asked of him.
Down to the beach for a paddle and late lunch. Then up to Berry Head to watch Brixham’s Castle, which told the story of the Napoleonic Fort there. Built by a woman it was, scandalous in them days apparently. And it got a bit nippy towards the end, so Elliot sat on Olivia’s lap.
We were given a lift back to Paignton to catch the train, which was jolly decent, or we’d have had to leave the show early to get the bus in time to catch the last train home.
We got back to Exeter about 10:40 and Olivia wanted to get a photo of the pebbles that light up. She went to get the camera out of her bag….
And this is where our wonderful day went completely tits up….
She left the camera on the train!!!
On the bloody train!!!
I am seriously not amused.
So the money she’s been saving up for her own camera is now being put towards mine. Well, half of it is, because I was planning on getting a new one anyway. But that’s not the point!
Almost 600 photos on that SD card!
Thank God for Flickr is all I can say!
Except for the photos from the last two days.
So she very gently tapped on my door this morning, “I made you a cup of tea, mum.”
And made my breakfast.
And she’s hoovered all of downstairs.
Think I might even get lunch as well.

….we haven’t been. Not since I said it anyway. So although I have plenty of time to blog, I haven’t actually got much to blog about.

We should have got to South Wales yesterday for our next camping adventure. But we didn’t. We’re still in Exeter. Not that I’m bitter or anything. But if Olivia thinks she’s getting any crisps this week….
Fortunately, Exeter has an abundance of free activities this summer. That are free. FREE!! Me likey. A lot! So many freebies in fact, that I doubt very much the necessity of us stepping outside the confines of Exeter’s city boundaries. Wahay!!

Anyways, back to our “not being very busy” weekend….
I’ve been reading a lot, but just lately, every book I’ve read that is set in America has mentioned “Naugahyde”. I had a feeling that it was that plasticky type chair cover, but I wasn’t completely sure. Being of an inquisitive nature, the next time I came across the term, I immediately headed to Google to help me out. And I was right! What I had no idea of though, was the history behind all the little Naugas, who so selflessly donate their hydes in the name of doctor’s waiting rooms.
Kind of reminded me of the adorably cute Haggii, to be found in the wilds of Scotland….

Yes, as you can see, when given the opportunity, I spend my precious few allotted seconds on the ‘puter looking up totally mind blowing information, which is, of course, entirely for the benefit of humankind….

So….apart from reading, we’ve also done a bit of eating….

The alfalfa in our Sunday lunch rolls was very nice, although I had to buy a new bioSnacky for the pleasure. The jar for the old one disappeared. The lid is still lurking in the kitchen though. But how can the jar have vanished so completely? Mind boggles. Unless of course it went on a little sojourn with the cutlery. Or one of the kids have broken it and have yet to ‘fess up. Olivia is useless at lying though, not even if her life depended on it. She does try though, bless her little cotton socks, but you might as well just stamp her sweaty brow “GUILTY!” I shall interrogate Adam when he returns from work. Not that he’ll have any idea what a bioSnacky jar is though.
And Adam loved the (vegan!) blackberry pie so much he licked the plate clean. Literally. He really did lick his plate. But ran away when he saw me reach for the camera to document his table manners….

Which reminds me, we went blackberry picking again….

….on our own this time. And I got caught short. Less said about that the better. A lot of nettles about.
“What did you use for loo paper mum?”
“I didn’t.”
“Ewwww!!!!”
“Shut up!”

And did all manner of things with them and the elderberries….

Olivia met Elvis!

Well….not technically the real Elvis….

Olivia’s been all of a stone age quiver (Me too! Wha…? It’s fun!)….
A stone age scene is being made, but it’s a work in progress and I’m banned from taking photos. At the moment. Give me time.
She’s currently reading Secret Water, more Swallows and Amazons adventures. She’s fortunately got over the sniggering every time Titty makes an appearance.
She’s also been blogging and Flickring like mad, completely overjoyed with all the comments she’s been receiving….
“How many have you got mum?”
“Shut up!”
(I’m really going off the entire concept of children…)

And, oh my gosh, we even thought about watching some TV!
But there was nowt on….

And I’ve had even less time on the ‘puter because Olivia has discovered the joys of Yahoo groups. The EO children’s one to be precise.

And another doodah from Shirl….

What Your Favorite Color Green Says About You:

Balanced — Relaxed — Flexible Compassionate — Philosophical — Humble Loyal — Inventive — Unique

I looked humble up in my Concise Oxford….I am sooo not humble….

Bizarre question from Adam today, “When you’re, like, grey all over, d’you want me to put you in a home?”

Bizarre comment from Olivia today, after I noticed she hadn’t washed up the mixing bowl properly, “Well it’s not my fault if you get pastry all up the sides!”

See you next Sunday!

Edited to add (because I was gob-smacked!)

Are all my efforts at home educating my daughter completely in vain??
Yes, we have the return of …. Dah Dah Dah!! …. “Stupid Question Of The Day”

“Mum, what’s the opposite of long?”

I hang my head in shame. Have I taught her nothing?? Three years (and more!) and she not know???!!!

So yesterday we went blackberry picking with Lisa and the girls. The plan being to pick a few buckets full of ‘em, then heading back here to do all manner of things with them. Dyes, fruit leather, smoothies etc. I’d even spent most of the morning looking for ‘things to do with blackberries’ on the web. But the blackberry bushes most local to us weren’t playing fair, despite the rest of Exeter being inundated with the little bleeders.
So after the girls traipsed down the panny, we got home, chucked what we had managed to purloin in the smoothie maker and drank them all in one go (with water, sugar and maple syrup added). Grown ups preferred them sieved, little people liked the bits in.

Today we’ve…. d’you know what? I’m too tired for this…. too busy spending time with….for want of a better term…. ‘real’ people. Go see Olivia’s. She’s really chuffed with herself. My daughter, the mini-mogul.

And there’s photos on my Flickr. See? Over there…. A handy link that says “My Flickr photos!” How convenient is that?!
Toodle pip!

Ooh! Back again!
I’ve strict instructions to put these photos on right away….

She was very happy.
Me?
I just felt really itchy and in need of a good scratch.

Teaspoon that is.
In Olivia’s room.
With a tin mug.
She’s still camping mad and it’s as close as she can get right now.
I’m saying nothing.

Seeing as Olivia’s managed to drag herself away from the ‘puter for five seconds it gives me a chance to catch up.
She’s blogging mad (that just sounds so awfully rude!) and Flickring mad (and that sounds worsererer). Emails whizzing through the air or wherever it is they go once send has been sended. I’m just making up my own vocabulary at the moment. You may possibly have noticed.

So Saturday. Birthday party. Not Olivia’s, a friend of hers with a paddling pool and, joy of joys, a water slide too! Glee city central!
Here’s pics….

I’ve had the dubious honour of blocking my first Flickr person. Some entity favouriting people in blindfolds. My daughter included (5 photos of her in all). Oh I think not matey!! So he’s been stomped on quite resoundly. And I’m keeping a close eye on the mud bath pic, which seems to have had more than it’s fair share of ‘views’. Maybe just changing the title will be sufficient. We’ll see.

Anyways, the party was great. Lots of fun and general waterplay. We made some choccy cupcakes to take with us. We always seem to dip out on cakes at parties, so I thought we’ll not be caught out. But even more vegan cakes had been made! And a vegan pizza! And homemade houmous! In fact the majority of the food was actually vegan! They’d even got soya milk in for cups of tea. Even though I drink it black! Jellies were vegan too! And they still felt bad that they hadn’t got any Swedish Glace for us! Oh our cups did runneth over! Metaphorically. Got home at 10 o’clock and went straight to bed.

I have no idea what we did on Sunday. Yes, I know it was only yesterday.
Olivia uploaded photos and Flickred with some new friends. And….um….I read….she wrote a book review for Swallows and Amazons….um….er….and kept a close eye on her growing pet, her prize for doing spiffingly well at Bang The Drum.

Adam came home this morning, showing us lots of pics of the christening on his phone. Bless.
We left him checking emails and toddled off to town. Olivia opened her first grown up bank account. Now that she’s reached the grand old age of 11, she gets a cash card too! How excited is she??
She also took lots of photos around town. Which meant that she then spent hours uploading them to Flickr, tagging them and everything, then to her blog. And back to Flickr again to comment on her comments received.
She’d got an optics science thingy in town and First News, so she’s been reading and building a periscope. Oh, and she did some algebra and some similes in the morning too. So home-ed wise she’s covered english, maths, science, ICT, history (A bit! Look at her photos on Flickr), PSHE (opening her own account must surely qualify)….um….geography and PE (we walked around town a lot for the photo session)….yes, a quite well-rounded educational day methinks.

I’ve made another trifle with some left over chocolate sponge. So I’ll be eating the biggest half again.

And some more bits seen on Shirl’s….

You Were a Fox

A good observer, you often watch others while remaining unseen. Cunning and courageous, you also have a gentle side.

Ooh, just call me Foxy from now on!

You Are a Soy Latte

Yeah, you’ve got a bit of that healthy hippie thing going on But you’re more Kate Hudson urban bohemian than Phish groupie You’re worldly and well traveled.. and you know where to get the best coffee in town. All your experience makes you a compassionate person - and a caring girlfriend.

Ooh….spooky….!

Yay!!
I got my phone back last week and my broadband back yesterday!!!
I would have blogged yesterday, but I had 505 emails to trawl through, some grotty e-mails to send off to BT and a hundred and thirty something photos to upload to Flickr. Which was more important, because if I’m honest, I’ve missed being able to Flickr seductively a whole lot more than waffling on me blog….
I also caught up with reading blogs, but only skimming over them, and then it got to gone one in the morning, and I thought I probably wouldn’t be able to comment sensibly by that point, so I didn’t, will try to today….maybe….
So…..what have we been up to???? A whole 20 days to catch up with!
I’ve got to think back to the beginning of the month….

I rebooked windsurfing, which meant we had a walk along the river and said “Wow!” a lot as we marvelled at the river rushing along….

Fell in love with a tree (although Olivia wasn’t equally as smitten….)

Olivia had a Guides trip to Bicton where they did canoeing, den building and other stuff. Lisa’s girls came back here after, so I put on a few DVDs (Monster House and Over The Hedge) and made a big bowl of popcorn. Think the microwave did most of the work though.

Went to Totnes for an Historical Visit, which included a visit to the castle (duh!) and a Treasure Trail around the town….

A very lovely day out with friends. About halfway round the trail, there was only the two of us and Hannah’s family left, which meant we got time for a proper good chat and half a shandy down on the Plains. More photos here.

Spent another Saturday afternoon with friends, but the weather was oh so much better, so we went to the park and watched the kids bashing each other with tennis rackets….

Adam helped a friend celebrate his 18th birthday in Exmouth and spent quite some time in the bathroom when he got home. Almost gave me heart failure when I came down for a wee in the early hours to find him sitting on the edge of the bath.
He felt somewhat sorry for himself the next day, as he went to the shop, he said “If I’m not back in ten minutes, call an ambulance….” Hee hee. I can laugh because it’s by far from a regular occurrence. Once every three or four months? If that. Which I think for an 18 year old isn’t bad at all.

We had a group trip to The Rock Centre, a climbing/abseiling/caving/camping wonderland. The kids only did the first two though, with a bit of zip wire and Tyrolean thrown in for good measure.

So much fun! We’re definitely going back, Olivia wants to go camping there too. I’d be up for that, ’specially as it’s so cheap. Oodles more pics here.

We didn’t go to pottery because I had a flat tyre. Which I didn’t realise ’til about 15 minutes into the ride. So we had to come back, and find out we didn’t have a pump at all (well, only a football one), by which time it wouldn’t have been worth going over there. so we didn’t.

We did, however, go to Exeter’s Green fair in the Bishop’s Palace garden….

We saw lots of friends there and joined the Devon Wildlife Trust. We had a long chat with the woman on the DWT stand, who was very impressed with Olivia’s knowledge of natural history (I was too, she sounded quite intelligent on more than one occasion!). The woman was so impressed she was going to ask which school Olivia went to that she knew so much, found out she’s home-educated and said “Ahh! That explains it then!” One up for home-ed methinks.
Oh yeah…. pics here.

We both cooed a lot at the sky that evening and kept snatching the camera off each other….

Hard to believe they were all taken over twenty minutes or so. We’ll conveniently forget the fact that all the wonderful colours and effects are due (more than likely) to pollution.

I had a horribly bad stomachache for a few days which meant I had to lie down and cuddle my froggy hot water bottle loads. Adam took Olivia to play tennis while I was being wimpy. He said she did OK for her first proper tennis. And Adam knows about these sporty type things, him being a fully qualified fitness instructor person.

Olivia had a birthday. Just the one. She’s 11 now. Last Wednesday (the 18th). We met her Nan in town, had lunch in La Tasca and did plenty of girly shopping for lots of clothes and shoes. Met Adam in town, who gave Olivia her birthday pressie, a very pink MP3 player. Managed to persuade her that Build A Bear is a complete rip off, and if she was just going to buy a bear would she really want to pay that much? “Um….no.”
And have you really got room for anymore cuddlies? “Um….no.”
And wouldn’t Ted get a teensy tiny bit upset and jealous if you ‘adopted’ (Adopted?! For crying out loud people! Get a life!!! Don’t even get me started on Cabbage Patch Dolls!)another teddy? “Um….yes.”
And isn’t there plenty more stuff you’d much rather have instead? “Um….yes.”

The three of us went bowling in the evening. And the two of them played lots of arcade games.

Home for trifle and National Treasure on DVD.

A very yummy trifle indeed! All vegan too. It even passed the Adam-who-won’t-eat-vegan-food-if-his-life-depended-on-it test. “‘Salright….” he mumbled.
The next day, we had the rest for breakfast, like you do. Lisa’s girls came over in the afternoon. They made cards for Brown Owl who was leaving. Two of them did. Olivia made one for herself which she is also going to post to herself. Just to see how long it takes.
They watched the rest of Over The Hedge, with the required amount of popcorn dutifully supplied. They all disappeared off for a barbecue, with the veggie and vegan having to take their own pre-cooked (by yours truly) burgers. Lisa brought them all back again for chocolate cake and “Happy Birthday to you”.

She’ll be having a proper party when the weather is slightly more predictable (just in time for her fiftieth then), because she wants to invite everyone. And my house is too small so they’d all have to be banished outside. With any luck she’ll forget she wants a party at all. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

Almost caught up now….yay!

Friday we went on a Natural History trip to Staverton to do a bit of pond and stream dipping. Ooh looky….photos….who’da thunk??

And ooh looky again….more here.

Whizzed back to Totnes to catch the train home, only to find out it had been delayed due to ‘adverse weather conditions in other parts of the country’. Then finding out on the train just how adverse the weather had truly been. Not nice.
That evening was spent at a cocktail party. Ahem. Which gave rise to a classic quote, “I love watching Supernatural when I’m drunk, ‘cos there’s three Jensen Ackles.” I won’t say who said it, just that it wasn’t me. And there’s no photographic evidence because I purposefully left my camera at home.

So….in between all that lot, Olivia has been doing tons of workbooks, finishing her last maths one the day before her birthday. Which meant we just had to buy another one on her birthday. Because I’m evil like that. And yes, I made her carry it home too!!
We’ve got through about half the library. Olivia finally discovering the joys of Swallows and Amazons.
Olivia finished her unicorn picture at Di’s.
We’ve both had haircuts, Olivia’s built a den out in the back garden (that’ll be Swallows and Amazons then), of which I have yet to take a photo. Bad mummy moment. Oh well.
We’ve been enjoying some of Olivia’s produce from the garden, sharing carrots with Lisa and the girls, a few broadbeans, onions and peas today. I’ve got a funny feeling we won’t actually be getting an entire meal all in one go, because Olivia is eating things as soon as they’re ready straight off the plant. Hmmm…..

Yesterday was obviously spent in gleeful enjoyment of broadband (and completely ignoring anything Harry related, sorry, the more the fuss and hype about something, the more I dig my heels in and resist, I’m perverse like that) and now I have to go. Olivia is desperate for Adam to show her how to put/download/upload (whatever!) music onto her MP3 player. It’s pink don’t you know.

The pretend chicken has taken up residency in Di’s fridge for the next few days….
We do have hot water again….yay!!!
But the phone is still kaput….

So Wednesday…. at group…. a somewhat eye-opening chat with friends there, sort of following on from a chat over the weekend. I’m not one for gossip and I stay out of feuds and such like, so if I’ve got a problem with someone I keep it to myself, it’s not really anyone else’s business is the way I see it. But some had noticed ‘things’ and asked me about it, which led to the eye-opening chats. This is all sounding incredibly mysterious, which is not like me at all. What you see, is pretty much what you get…. Anyway, having had the chats, I’m feeling better about the situation as a whole. Let’s just say I really do have a huge problem with people lying to me and about me. And that’s all you’re getting from me on the subject!
Still managed to upset someone else at group though….
I hadn’t heard from her as to whether her boys would be doing windsurfing, one of the activities I’ve been organising, and as per my rules (quite clearly stated on posters I put up each week at group), I gave their places to the next kids on the list, bumped into her in the High Street and told her. She got annoyed, stomped off saying she couldn’t talk about it then. Then kicked up a fuss at group….
Upshot is that the substitute boys felt uncomfortable taking the others’ places and stepped down. Which is fine, I have no problem with that. But….gnnnhhh….can feel the need for a chat with her coming up….such fun….

Anyway, after upsetting her, we went and checked on Olivia’s community garden….

And had time for a snack on the Cathedral Green before drama, I also got to play with some B&W photography….

Needless to say there’s a few more on Flickr.

Yesterday, we had the pleasurable company of Lisa’s girls in the morning. Lots of sticking bits of old magazines to bits of paper, and playing with cuddly toys. Must be a girl thing, Adam was way past cuddlies by this age. So was I actually, but then I was a total tomboy….
A quiet afternoon for me ‘cos Lisa took Olivia home with her, before taking her to Guides in the evening. I had my long awaited mega bath with huge amounts of Lush thrown in for good measure.
Adam came home, perfectly timed for about ten minutes after I’d got out of the bath. He wanted to look at my book of quotations. I thought he was getting all erudite….a thought which had a lifespan of….ooh….about five seconds. He was looking for inspiration for his next tattoo. He made the mistake of asking my opinion on what he should get. He is fully aware of my opinion on tattoos, so I suppose it’s quite touching that he still asks. I suppose….
He said he wanted another one because he really wanted to be a yob….
“You’re already one” I said.
“What? What did you say?? I’ll show you!!” And off he ran upstairs….
Coming back down with this….

Can you see what it says? He’s very proud…. yes, so am I!
I had a meeting in the evening about the grant we got for the outdoor activities. A few other groups turned up and we all showed what we’d been spending our/their money on. They had laptops and power point presentations, I had a bit of paper I waved about with great enthusiasm….

This morning was fairly bright and sunny, this evening is turning out the same. This afternoon it was grotty and raining. Which is why we decided to choose that particular time to wander round the Continental Market in town…. Like you do….
All these photos taken by Olivia.

But not this one, ‘cos I had to stand on a chair in the kitchen.

A scary amount of money spent.

I think we have about a weeks worth of photo prompts to catch up with. Safe to say, it’s not gonna happen tomorrow. We’ll be going on another cycling scavenger hunt somewhere, so if it’s grotty weather on Sunday (which no doubt it will be), it won’t be happening then either. Monday’s out as well, as is Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Looks like it’ll be Thursday then.
(Or should that be…. )
In which case, it’ll be nearly two weeks worth, which is definitely worth a

Oh yeah….I remember….I think….
Monday, we were being all arty again….I think….
Tuesday, we went to see Di and we did….um….not a lot really….we did eat cake though, a huge great chocolate affair, so we obviously had to eat a lot, ’til we felt sick in fact….and drank tea….
Wednesday was group day. There was supposed to be yoga, so we got there in plenty of time, Olivia with her mat tucked under her arm. But blokey never showed.
But Louise did….with an addition….

Guess what she had? Can you? Can you really??
The afternoon’s entertainment was provided by Dan the Hat….pic city central….

Lots of fun. Then Olivia’s community garden, where I meant to take some progress photos, but I’d run out of memory. Not me, the camera….the SD card to be specific. Then drama and home again.

Thursday….what did we do Thursday? Slightly worrying blank….nope, I’ve already blogged it….most confusing. Adam (the fitness instructor) got the results of his practical.

Friday, we were out early to set off to Dartmouth for the day with the photography group. Not as early as it could have been, because the bus goes past the end of the road, so we didn’t have to haul ourselves into town. Most convenient. I like buses like that.
Yes….photography group means photos….
We met up with everyone and had a walk round part of the town, snapping away.

Then got the ferry to the castle….to take more photos….and have lunch on the beach….

The plan was for the two of us to leave in time to get the last ferry back to Dartmouth (Yeah, I know we could have walked, but ferries are cool!), but Olivia and B had bonded big time and persuaded us to stay longer. Mainly because B accused me of being completely unreasonable.
So back to the beach it was after everyone else had gone. Jolly glad we did too, we spotted a seal out at sea (well, Gordon did…), but the photo was ridiculously small. A blob in the water, not worth the space it took up on the memory card….
And we spotted a jellyfish (well, Gordon did….)! Olivia caught it and it was deposited in a bucket for us all to have a look at before releasing it back into the wild. Olivia, oh so bravely, conquering her fear of jellyfish. Where it comes from I have no idea, it’s not as though she has been viciously attacked by hordes of them in the past or anything.
But she was viciously attacked by all the barnacles on the rocks….although she remains completely unconcerned about them….

The other 37 photos are here in a set on Flickr. Look, it was a photography trip, I had to take lots of photos!
We got a lift back to Totnes (bizarrely finding out that Hannah knows my uncle Nick from the jazz band he used to play in at the Seven Stars in Totnes!) and caught the second to last bus, getting home at almost nine. As in 9pm. About a 12 hour day. But a very lovely 12 hour day.

So….yesterday….we left the house even earlier to catch a train to Bristol. To visit the Bristol Vegan Fayre. More photos….

A recurring theme throughout the day was the repetitive questioning by a certain Olivia child….
“Is it really all vegan??” (We’d seen a milkshake stand)
“Can I really eat everything??” (First stop was the central market with lots of food just begging to be tasted!)
“How can he do that??” (We were watching a contortionist)
“Is everyone really vegan??”
I lost count of the number of times she asked each question!!

We missed lots of talks….all of them actually, we were there for food and entertainment. We got both in bucket loads. We did catch a cookery demonstration by Jane Easton from VIVA. She was doing a mushroom risotto, followed by raspberry syllabub. She made a huge fan of Olivia by letting her have the glass full of syllabub that had been used for presentation purposes.
Cue more repetitive questioning, “So, mum, how much syllabub did you get?? Ha!!”

It was extremely hot and muggy the entire day. Fortunately, there was cool wet water aplenty just outside the venue, so we had a paddle midway through the afternoon.

Mr Brett, him of the stripy outfit, sat on my lap. You can imagine my joy at having a sweaty man sitting on me. Just think ‘armpits far too close to my face’….yeah, you get the idea….

We’d missed the display by the Sikh martial artists because we’d been watching Jane Easton. But we did get to see Harem Nights, a North African band complete with belly dancers. Olivia was fascinated with them and got as close to the stage as she could to take photos. Lots of photos, I had to whittle them down a bit….

Another very enjoyable day, even with the sticky weather. We saw a few friends from EFFA, one was working on the Animal Aid stand, the other two were just up for the day like us.
It started raining as we went back to the train station. Those big big raindrops that seem to fall slower than the others. My favourite kind of rain.
So….we got back even later than we did the day before….and went straight to bed. There’s a surprise.
I seem to remember saying something about doing a photo prompt catch-up today. Think that’ll be happening tomorrow now! As will Sarah’s kind tagging. ‘Cos I’m still tired. And we blitzed the bathroom this afternoon. Which means that I may have need of a glass of wine. But I don’t have any in the house. I’m feeling too lazy to go to the shop. Olivia’s too young to go for me. Adam’s already gone out. Looks like a wine free night again tonight. Which is not fair, seeing as I resisted the Apple Bar (lots of cider!) so nobly at the Fayre yesterday. Looks like I’ll be sulking then.

Today is the 5th of May. 24 hours of Flickr Day. Which obviously means a huge photo fest coming up.
I was still up after midnight, so I started then….

I got a photo of Olivia, ‘cos she’ll sleep through anything. Adam won’t though. Not unless he’s drunk….goes without saying really.

I went up to bed then. Found it a little hard to get a photo of me sleeping, so here’s a bit of my bed instead. Not technically my bed, the bit above….

The absolute very first thing I have to do when I wake up is have a wee. Didn’t get a photo of that you’ll be pleased to know!

Quick bit of ironing….

Then off to the arts centre for Saturday Art Club….

We had a few minutes before going in, so what better way to spend them than climbing on an ancient wall?

I did a bit of shopping, then got myself a cuppa at the centre.

I saw my friend Debbie’s partner there with their youngest son. Debbie was my very close friend who died last year. He’s going through a tough time at the moment (again), has to sell their home, already sold but nowhere to live yet, his father died recently and he’s very worried about their eldest son, won’t go into details. Suffice to say, it’s a delayed reaction to his mum going. Rob asked how we were. Felt awful saying how wonderful life is for us right now. But Debbie and Rob have always been so happy to see their friends happy regardless of what’s going on in their lives. Sign of a true friend….
He’s going to give me their new address and phone number to stay in touch when they find out where they’ll be living. Really don’t want to lose touch, last bit of Debbie I’ve got left….
Getting a bit blubbery now, so I’ll stop there!

We were chatting for so long that I was late picking Olivia up.
There was still a boy waiting for his dad though, so I wasn’t that late. We had sausage rolls for lunch….

There were some girls playing with poi on the Cathedral Green. Can you see them? I can’t….and I know they were there!

As soon as we got home, we felt a desperate need for sorbet. I loved the patterns so couldn’t resist taking a photo….

I had a quick glance round the garden….

Then Olivia was inspired by the poi girls on the Green….

This is, I think, my favourite photo from today….

More reading of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe….

More work on Fairy Land….

I was incredibly busy too….

Getting up occasionally to take photos of the work in progress….

We made sausage rolls for tomorrow’s outing….

Adam came home after spending the afternoon in the pub watching footie, sober this time….

But was gone again in minutes.
We had some spare sausage rolls, so we had them for dinner. But Olivia had to earn hers first….

That’s been our day in Flickr world. It’s not quite over, I’ve still got to have my bath, but you won’t be wanting a photo of that. No more than you’d want one of me on the loo.

Saw this on SuzyB, via Eleanor’s. Google your name followed by ‘needs’.

Jo needs your help. (Obviously!)

Jo needs a 17″ PowerBox. (A what??)

Jo needs to have adequate agricultural statistics. (Oh yes indeedy!)

Jo needs to be claimed. (Just pick me up at Lost Property)

Jo needs help with dressing and washing and still wets the bed occasionally. (I have been to the doctor though….)

Jo needs to be brought back to play for a larger crowd. (But I don’t do crowds)

Jo needs the money. (Tell me about it!)

Jo needs to stop being so uptight n such a stroppy pants n go 4 it. (Oh shut up!)

Jo needs just a ‘little’ bit more training and professional guidance. (Only a ‘little’ you realise)

Jo needs a nose job. (Outrageous!)

Jo needs some room to be used powerfully. (Ooh! I say!!)

Jo needs a producer who can get the best out of her. (I do I do!)

And as I’m really a ‘Joanne’….

Joanne needs some adult company. ( Would that be in the ‘Biblical’ sense then?!)

And finally, a public health announcement from Prydwen…..

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have
demonstrated that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria found in faeces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poo.
However, we do not run that risk when drinking wine (or rum, whiskey, beer or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember:
Water = Poo
Wine = Health
Therefore, it’s better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of s**t.
There’s no need to thank me for this valuable information; I’m doing it as a public service.

My public service is passing the information on!