Things in Pockets

• Crunchy Kleeneseese (O November! O Runny Noses!) 
• Bus tickets. Because our fingers get cold when we ride bikes 
• Cashew nut packet 
• Socks 
• Gloves 
• A sort of torch light which, when switched on, makes a red eyeball on the wall. There was a lollipop attached to one end, a sort of sweet but terrifying Halloween thing 
• A 'pet' rock 
• Chalk 
• Lists! "Post Office. Bread. Invoices. Call npower and threaten to send plague of fleas."

I'ts FRIDAY! The weather man says ze wezzer weel conteenue zees fine. I will give you another picture of Trinidad, just because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want.

My old front porch, pic by Diana Joseph

'Sexypink' Heliconia

 Okay, A FEW photos.

Double River Waterfall, Brasso Seco

"Try Switching it Off and Switching it Back On Again", And Other Pearls of IT Wisdom

I'm working at a helpdesk these days, and loving it. It's long days, and a ton of stuff to muddle through (Temping: They throw you in at the deep end) but everyone there (and there are thousands there) is cheerful (except when they are yelling "I reported this THREE WEEKS AGO!" to the temp who started yesterday, but that's okay, they weren't to know) and friendly, and the dress is fairly casual which means COMFY SHOES!

Every morning, the boys look at me appraisingly, and say, "You're going to work like THAT?" Today I wore a skirt, kinda a bohemian look I'll admit, and Sam said, "Good grief, you look like you fell out of a tree." Even on the first day, which as every temp knows is 'Dress Smart and Suss Out the Threads' day, when I wore smart slacks and a jacket, they weren't entirely happy until I had tucked in my shirt. And then they sighed, "I don't suppose you have a belt?" I just snort at them and ignore.

Don't look outside... 

I have posts up at Work Your Way, if you want to know what else I've been up to. Having lots to do is making the time pass so quickly, that I think our holidays will come, and we will be on a plane to sunny climes, before we know it! Yes, we are having a green Christmas. Everyone at work I've told that to says "Okay, shutup." So I won't carry on about it. Muahahahaa!

However, sitting in an ergonomically designed chair, answering the phone, gazing at an AMAZING huge computer screen from 8.30 to 5.00, snacking on flapjacks and McVites Cheddars... I just realized today that I will be wearing a bikini in exactly three weeks. So I got off the bus early, and walked a while. Then I packed myself a container of crunchable veggibles, and a bag of nuts. And I will not be having the huge subsidized lunch with all the sauce and cheese and things in the canteen tomorrow. Sigh!

A word about Cheddars: About two years ago, I had my first mini Cheddar. I was in a pub, and fished one out of a bowl, and crunched. Angels sang. I held one up. "What! What? What are theeese????" I cannot believe that I never knew about Cheddars before. And now I do. My world is a yummier place. So I may allow myself occasional Cheddars at work.

I think I will have to make peace with not being skinny in my bikini. I suspect that once I'm lolling on the sand, I won't care.

Nudists and Yogurt: My SEO Stats are Weird

Yes, folks, most of the new visitors to this site are googling 'Nudists' and 'Yogurt'. With a sprinkling of 'Hangy Boobs'. NO ONE ever comes here looking for 'Great Books for Boys' or 'Where is That Missing Sock' or 'How Can I Get my Teen to Pee Straight', topics which I find totally gripping and which, you may agree, are the flesh and bones of this website.

Oh well. It's all pretty interesting.
(Edited: my world-famous creamy yogurt recipe is here! No cats were actually injured in the making of this recipe, I promise.)

Chas, you are a fantastic photographer. Thank you for this!

I recently bought my own domain name, which is very cool. I have been meaning to, being a Serious Parenting Writer and all, because this blog, which started out as a whim, has turned into quite a good platform for my writing, and even the reason I'm calling myself 'A Writer'. Although, of course, according to my stats, no-one has ever googled 'What I really need is an awesome Parenting Writer, quick!' and arrived at this website. So really, I should just not take it too seriously, right?

But then my friend Nancy, who IS a serious novelist, gave me a heads-up about a new book and website about things someone has found in their children's pockets. Very cute. (NO, I am not linking it here, duh.) (Her kid has way cuter things in their pockets than my kids, in case you were wondering. No crunchy kleeneseese or pet lizards there.) So before someone cleverly pinches my domain name and I have to send my cronies over, I thought I had better just get to it. So I signed up with GoDaddy.com. I'ts been easy, everything is the same as before with blogger's easy buttons in all the same places, except that my blog list mysteriously disappeared and I had do it over. I have no idea whose fault that was!

Interestingly, my kids (Hi Guys!) are still a hundred percent supportive of my embarrassing them on the internet. Chas disappeared into the darkness and spent hours writing with a light and a slow shutter to make me that 'Pockets' sign above as a new-domain-name present. I am blown away by the way Margo's old headboard, which is propped up behind the sofa, frames the word. Very cool photography and awesome design.

(In Demented Old Lady news: Margo is doing well, eating well, and has forgotten that she ever lived in Bournemouth. She misses her mum and wonders why she doesn't write. My mum is doing an amazing job of caring for her. I hope that when it's my turn, I can be as patient.)

And, as this post appears to be about advertising, I have also started a facebook page where I hope you will all become fans and tell your friends and friends' friends and ex-boyfriends and other friends who have been searching in vain for a speedy and grammatically obsessive writer with a terrible addiction to parentheses and TA DAAAA! I am it! Because the 'x' has fallen off my keyboard and it's annoying that I can't just buy myself a new keyboard. And YOU DON'T WANT ME TO BE ANNOYED do you? Oh, and it's winter, so send chocolate and socks. That is all.

Read me a Story: Audiobooks are Awesome!

When we used to drive for HOURS to school and back, we had dozens of Audiobooks on CDs and Tapes. It was amazing. We would sit in traffic and laugh at the antics of Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon, or listen in rapt attention to A Short History of Nearly Everything, an incredibly listen-able tale the important scientific bits we should all know. Chas learned his times tables by singing along on a cassette tape, we listened to Shakespeare's  As You Like It over and over until we understood the weirdness of the language, and on the way home late in the evening, we were lulled with poetry, bedtime tales and classic stories.

Two years ago, we discovered Audible Audiobooks, and now we can choose and download a story in minutes. Many is the night I've heard Chas giggling, and when I look in he's got the headphones in. So I'm pointing you in their direction.

  Here's a FREE TRIAL!
Some Bedtime Meditations for Kids:
The Prince's Bedtime:
And many more wonderful books for children and grownups!

Campaigning for Civilized Toilets Since 1998!

Yes, folks, it's the latest battle in the War of the Toilets. Alas that I cannot install a urinal and a pin-locked girls' loo...

But I will not be defeated! Occasional battles may be lost, but victory will eventually be mine!!!! Or they will all move out. And I will probably miss them, and look back and sigh, "O how I miss complaining about stinky loos."

Or not.

I'm Rocking my Baby... And Babies Don't Keep!

I'm sitting at the kitchen table, hacking out a few articles and a Rockstar Blog Post over at Work Your Way. And giggling at my sister! Ailis is visiting, and trying to be helpful. Ailis clears the dishes... and then baby Kate squeaks and off mummy goes to burp her and gaze adoringly at her. Ailis comes back, no doubt totally impressed that I managed to fold a pile of laundry, put in another load, and have a shower with such aplomb this morning while she was breastfeeding. She washes two plates, and then goes to gaze at Kate again. "I WILL wash the dishes," she announces, from the comfort of the living room where Kate is curled up on her chest, breathing with quick newborn breaths and smelling divine.

Really, the dishes can wait. They aren't going anywhere.


Song for a Fifth Child by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due (Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue? (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Travesty!

My blog list is MISSING! I know I can find most of my favourite peeps again, never fear, but I have been too busy to go looking yet. So how about EVERYONE leave a comment, just to make life easy for me, k? This should be fun!

I recently went from blogspot.com to my OWN domain name, thingsivefoundinpockets.com, which is very cool and cheaper than I thought. Maybe that has caused the gadget to disappear? Ah well, in the grand scheme of things it's small stuff. And if you ONLY KNEW about the grand scheme things that have been happening here, you would be sending me chocolate and advice and warm fuzzy socks.

In fact, you should send me some anyway.

I did my grocery shopping: Riverford's Meat Box (usually we just get masses of veggies, and hardly ever eat meat), pot barley, double cream. I am craving stodgy food, and it's not even winter yet! The clocks went back a few days ago, and the dark evenings are (insert word here)

To counteract the stodge effect, I also bought amazing comfy new running shoes for effective pavement pounding. They are silver and purple and sparkly! My old shoes had holes in them, and my shins were hurting... the new shoes, happy shins! They were on sale too, asics. I love 'em.

We're plugging the TV in this week, for long dark evenings of nature documentaries and hopefully, good programming. and maybe some CSI. Wish us luck!