Ho Sodding Ho

And that's me being polite ;)

Not one speck of tinsel has found it's way out of the Christmas decorations box yet. Small people have neither queried or requested it so I'm wondering just how long we can go without it all before it becomes silly and folk start to think I've really been reading those WatchTowers.

I've managed to scrabble together most of one child's presents from Santa, a wee pile for another child and barely a bulge in a carrier bag for the third one. Why does no one know what they want this year?!?

Where is my Christmas spirit? Well the bottled kind that had been languishing at the back of my cupboards for cough cough some time were shoved into a homemade hamper that I put together back in October for Mother to take back down the road with her for my brother and sister-in-law. How organised was I! Yeah ok I guess using the word shoved does imply that it was more a hasty thought of ooh let me quickly put something together for them and save myself a gazzillion pounds in postage.

I spent the equivalent of a small countries debt on sheets of stamps the other day in the hope that it would motivate me to actually write the Christmas cards. Not worked so far. Why do we have to send Christmas cards, am I the only one that finds writing them a chore? If you haven't spoken to someone all year why do you feel obliged to send them a card with snow on the front of it just because it's Christmas? You're probably not going to speak to them again all of next year.

I do however have our Christmas day meat sorted. I expect that says more about me than I'd want a psychologist to know but it was on offer and we really wanted to try one last year but they were all sold out. It's one of those 3 bird roasts thingys and its taking up a huge chunk of my freezer space as we speak. It better be good!

I think I need to sit down with my small people and make the hundreds of snowflakes we do every year and if that doesn't put some sparkle in my baubles then I must be a lost cause and there's no hope for me.

This post was brought to you under the advisement of dear bloggy friends who tell me to just write something/anything.....well you asked for it so how was it? :D

Busy bee

That's me!

Ok obviously I'm not actually a real bee, this was one that I managed to snap quickly on my old point and shoot digi camera (wish I had a better camera - one day maybe but it's at the end of a very long list) while the kids were playing at the park.

I'm currently fostering a young lad who needs a LOT of attention so my computer time has gone from hours and hours to mere seconds. :) So I'll probably not be around as much for a wee while until things settle down and routines get put in place.
It was a lovely sunny day here yesterday but I see that there was a lot of rain everywhere else, mind you we had a full day of rain on Saturday so when the sun came out to play yesterday we went paddling in the sea and making the most of it because it'll probably be rain again tomorrow.

Home Grown

Now I mentioned homegrown tomatoes. Oh yes I did.

Despite spending several back breaking - my muscles are still under protest several days later - hours working in the garden my veg plot is still half strawberry patch and half land of the weeds.

The rest of the garden is more weed free but still desperate for something more doing to it. The lawn still has a huge brown patch from our camping adventure at Easter! And when you have to mow your block paving you know you're definitely losing the battle of keeping up with the gardening.
Oh and did I mention the neighbours who chopped my hedge down? Or the fence man who STILL hasn't come to put me up a fence so I can have some privacy in my own garden? Aaaagggh!

Anyway wee one and I took ourselves off out for a drive the other day and found ourselves at a Homebase, don't ask!

I didn't get any of the things I actually need (lack of funds) but we did pick ourselves up two bargains that will hopefully pay for themselves.

Not sure why as they didn't appear any worse for wear than those that were still at full price.


Reduced from £4.99 to £1.98


At that price is would have been daft not to have a matching pair eh? :D


They perked up considerable after a good watering, but then inevitably not long after I watered them it started to rain and didn't stop for hours and hours!
Here's hoping soon we'll be able to nip out to the back door and pick some of our very own tomatoes.

Summertime Nom nom nom's

Now having a pinterest account for some time now you'd think I'd have saved where I found this recipe wouldn't you?
No you probably know me well enough now to know that I wouldn't, that I would see it, think ooooh that looks not only yummy but really easy to do. Thus store it away in my head and have it pop back up again when I least expected.
Yeah that's the Taz you know so well. ;)

So anyway I didn't invent this recipe, I don't even know what the proper name for it is BUT I do know that it is delicious and wee one agrees.

There are only 4 ingredients, well 5 if you want to include the bread. ;)



I don't have quanities I'm afraid. I just used my eye and thought "yeah that looks about right."

* So take a large bowl and pour in a good glug glug glug of olive oil.
* Chop up a bunch of spring onions, finely.
* Chop up a good couple of handfuls of toms, I used cherry vine ones but you could use nice big ones, especially if you've got some home grown - more on that later.
* Take some feta cheese and crumble up. Again no quantity but I guess it depends on how big a bowl you are making.
* Mix up together with the oil and leave to sit for as long as you like, or not long at all if you're like me and wee one and just wanted to eat it straight away.
* Slice up some nice fresh bread, we used a French Stick.


Take yourself out in the sunshine, sit down, take a slice of bread and smoosh it into the dish.


And enjoy!


Added bonus - wee one spotting that the end of the bread was a heart shape, the end to a perfect meal.

I'm Bored....Jar

Like most parents I'm always on the lookout for something to keep the smalls entertained, especially over the long summer holidays. Up here in Scotland that's right now. We have made a list of things we'd like to do or could do in the past but after coming across this on HomeSpunThreads wee one and I spent an enjoyable afternoon making up our own I'm Bored Jar. Oh and a spare wee one for when she's at her Dad's as she tells me it's always boring at Dad's house. :/

First take a clean jar or you could use a baby's milk can or coffee can with a lid.


Some colourful paper.


One of these beauties.


A glamorous assistant who does things like this.

Yeah ok the remnants of the nail varnish isn't so glamorous...moving swiftly on!


Write lots of ideas for fun things. The link on the website gives you a couple of sheets of ideas but they are very American based so you may want to write some of your own. Plus you can sneak in a few of your own ideas in there. Y'know those things you've been wanting them to do for ages but they're always too busy with homework and after school stuff. ;)
We sprinkled in a few sparkles too, well you can never have enough sparkles can you?



And there we have it. Two I'm bored Jars ready for action. If we start running low after a couple of weeks I'll just pop some more ideas in. Don't worry about repeating ideas. I think we put in about 5 make a cake's and several go to the beach/park's. ;)


I'm hoping the jar wee one plans to take to her Dad's gives him a nudge to do more with her but as the saying goes you can lead a horse to water. Yadda yadda yadda. I don't think it's even entered his head how hurt big one is that he took himself off on a last minute holiday before going back to work instead of spending that precious time with her before she went to Malawi. You'd think the fact she could barely bring herself to talk to him properly on the phone might have given him a clue but no. I'd give him the heads up but the last time I tried to help in a situation like this he threw it back in my face and refused to take any responsibilities for his actions. So you'll understand how much it all upsets me, when all I have ever wanted is for him to put them first.

Anyway now I'm rambling and this was supposed to be a happy how to post. Let me know if you make your own I'm Bored Jars and any good ideas for things to do. ;)

Radio silence

Well that's that then. Big one is away to Malawi and I won't hear from her now until the end of July when she comes back.

The drop off on Wednesday was a bit of a drama. There were tears, there were highs and lows and there was a middle of the night drive to collect a missing item of her uniform while she slept unaware that her wee sister and I would be standing at the pick up point in the morning ready to give her that one last hug and kiss that she wasn't expecting. Oh and the missing bit of uniform. :)

When I looked back after leaving her at her friends house and saw that sad face how could I not do something that I knew would make her smile? She had said earlier in the evening that she wished we could be there in the morning to wave her off.

Once wee one and and I had done the return 100 mile drive (fortunately wee one had slept during the night's journey) she took herself to school for the afternoon and I took myself off to my bed for some much needed shut eye. I'm getting too old for a 400 mile drive and a night of no sleep not to have an effect. :p

Later in the afternoon I switched on my laptop to discover a beautiful message that big one had left the previous afternoon, just before we left the house to take her down.

Then up popped a private message - she was at Heathrow, the flight to Malawi was due to leave shortly but she just wanted to send wee one and I more hugs and kisses and let us know that the fact she was about to fly to Africa really hadn't sunk in yet. Bless her.

I'm really going to miss having her here but I know she is going to have an amazing experience that hopefully she will look back on in years to come with good memories. I'm so proud of her and I can't wait to hear all about her adventures and I'll be sure to share with you all too. ;)

Father's Day

One of the last conversations with my Dad that has stayed with me all these years was while he was up staying with me in the Easter holidays of 2004.

I was just about to go on a field trip to Prague with my college and my Mum and Dad were up to look after my girls while I was away.

My Dad wasn't big on showing emotions, he had had a pretty crappy childhood. A Father who was in his 50's when he was born and a Mother who was so busy keeping her husband from sharing his fists and dealing with her own grief of a still born daughter meant there wasn't a whole lot of love shown in his childhood.

Despite all that my Dad was and is the only man in my life that I knew loved me and really did. He may not have talked about it but he showed me it in so many ways that now having two daughters of my own makes me realise my girls are missing out on so much.

Anyway...that conversation was an out of the blue moment. The girls were playing in the garden. Big one was 9 and wee one was 3 and a bit and my Dad was sat in the sun keeping an eye on them when he turned to me and told me how proud he was of me. Proud that I had spent the last two years studying at college for my HND and achieving A grades and proud for me keeping it all together, family and home when I had left everything I had known, including my own career, behind for my husbands job which effectively left me alone as a single parent the majority of the time.

Within a few days of my return from Prague my Mother in law died, three months later I received a phone call telling me my hero had had a heart attack and shortly after came the most horrendous call of my life telling me my Daddy was gone.

I thought when people said their legs gave way was just a phrase of speech but I can honestly say when I heard the words that my Dad was dead my legs gave way and I sank to the floor screaming.

This July will mark seven years of my life that I haven't had my Dad. I still have the urge to phone him to ask for advice when I'm attempting some diy project or I need to hear his voice. Seven years on and I still haven't deleted his number from my mobile phone.

Today there will be no Father's Day celebrations. My small people's Father has taken himself away on holiday despite the fact that big one is due to leave shortly for her month away in Malawi. I think that just about says it all!

I miss you so much Dad and I am just glad that we had that last chance for you to tell me how proud you were of me. I love you then, now and forever Daddy Bear. I hope you're still proud of me xxx

Thank **** it's Friday

I'm not sure if there's some sort of universe shift going on but a lot of my friends seem to be feeling out of sorts this week, there have been many cases of if it's going to go wrong then you can pretty much guarantee that it's going to. And today I was pushed to my very last limit - that is to the limit that I actually did something about it and instead of allowing myself to be treated like an ever useful doormat I did what I find so easy to do for everyone else.

I stood up for myself.

There were tears, mainly due to sheer frustration and the amount of stress I've had piled on to my already fun packed days.

But I did it.

I stood up for myself, I reiterated that my No actually did mean NO. I told, when asked, exactly how it was and how I felt I had been backed into a very tight corner and I was thankfully met with understanding.

I shared with friends who rallied round me and one arrived at my house to take me out for coffee and a good old fashioned chat.

I came home and threw myself into yet another cupboard purge and then the phone rang. I received an apology from someone who actually didn't have anything to apologise for but it was nice to think that they thought they needed to do it and were prepared to offer it so freely.

The person who has caused all this stress has not phoned. In fact I don't even want them to, I do have an outstanding appointment with them next week and my gut is already twisting thinking I have to see them.

For now it's Friday night, I have a glass of wine prescribed by a friend and I have a huge shopping day to 'look' forward to tomorrow. I don't know if you remember me mentioning it before but my eldest small person is off to Malawi this summer. She leaves in 12 days :( and she will be out of my reach until the end of July. I can't phone her, text her, email her or even know how she's managing unless there is an emergency and then they will phone me. Hmmm yes thinking about it perhaps it was not the best time for someone to try and upset my little world when I have all that going on in my head.
Anyway that's the reason we're going shopping, she has a kit list as long as my arm and it's going to leave my purse very empty BUT I am so proud that my 16 year old is off to do something so worthwhile and have such an amazing experience.

I hope you've all had a better week than me and have something fun to look forward to this weekend.

Pics of bathroom are coming ;)

Cupboard cooking

Take...

1 chopped onion, peel off and cut away the dodgy bits if it's been lying about in the cupboard too long.
A couple of crushed cloves of garlic, if the fresh stuff has shrivelled up in the cupboard hunt for the jar of lazy garlic you know is in there somewhere.
1 tin of chopped toms or if they're not chopped as mine weren't just use a knife and chop them up yourself.
A squirt of tomato puree, cut the tube open as you would toothpaste to get that very last bit out.
S+P, Herbs to your own taste or whatever you can find in the cupboard.

Simmer away in a pan until you have your very own lovely tomato sauce.


Cooked with a bag of Quorn Mince found stuffed at the back of the freezer when you were doing your clever inventory.

Now either make up the packet of cheese sauce again found in the cupboard or make up some fresh cheese sauce with some flour, milk and that hard bit of cheese that was in the fridge that nobody seemed to be eating.

If you're me then realise you've no pasta sheets then take the left over tortilla's from the bread bin and use in place of said pasta sheets.


Then get on with some fancy layer work.

A bit more of that grated cheese because of course you'll have remembered to hold some back for the final topping.

Pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes, I can't be more accurate than that I'm afraid as I kind of lost track of time and just judged it by eye. This style of cooking makes my small people giggle as the timer bell inevitably goes off when we're already sat down and starting eating.
Anyway I digress....
Serve up with a lovely salad and there you are..

A healthy, frugal yummy meal from things you already had in your cupboards/freezers/fridges - see told you those lists would come in handy eh? ;)

Do you know exactly what you have?

Don't panic I'm not asking you to share anything racy but rather I'm curious as to whether other folk know how much food they have in their cupboards and freezers.

I'm sure I can't be the only one who used to rummage about and couldn't remember either buying that or when exactly it was put in the freezer.

I've been doing weekly menus and posting them up on the fridge door for some time now. Not only is it a great money saver as I know exactly what I need to buy each week, it has also stopped the daily "What's for tea Mum? Ooooh do we have to have that!" conversations. Everyone knows what's coming and amazingly no one seems to moan. Of course no doubt now I have totally jinxed myself saying that.

So there I was buying only what I need for each weeks menu but still having to do the rummage to fit things in the cupboards and freezer.

Enough I thought to myself, well I probably said it out loud to the dog. Poor old beast has to listen to a lot of my ramblings bless him.

So I pulled everything and I mean EVERYTHING out of the freezer and the cupboards and I wrote me an inventory.




As you can see when I painted the kitchen cupboards with the blackboard paint I didn't have enough to do the insides of the doors - oops!


Once the lists were made I realised I could feed us for a good couple of weeks only having to buy a few fresh bits and pieces thus saving my grocery money and having that cash free to put towards an upcoming large bill. Brilliant!

Now each week I consult my lists and never have to wonder whether I have something when the mood takes me to make something.

Next job is to design some nice sheets so they look a bit prettier stuck around my kitchen. :)

So do you know exactly what you have?

More cake vicar?

Lemon Drizzle Cake fresh out of the oven.


From Sam Stern's Student Cookbook

I wonder if big one will actually cook anything out of it when she goes off to Uni next year. Or will I be cooking great batches of things to send her back to the Halls with. :)

A sign

Literally!



This is the kind of stuff they don't tell you about in Emma's Diary! I just googled to check if in fact Emma still has her diary and I see there is now an online version. Show's how long it's been since I had a baby. LOL

Anyway I saw this in the PDSA shop and just had to have it for my kitchen wall.... well it makes me feel better even if nobody actually takes a blind bit of notice of it. :)

Frugal hair

My name is Taz and I haven't had a hair cut since.....................

actually I can't even remember the last time I had a hair cut. Hmmm think it must be a good year or so ago.

I have hair that grows incredibly fast. Many would think this is a wonderful thing to have but it can actually be a serious pain in the purse.

To have a style and keep that style I would have to have a trim at least every 3 weeks. Most folk get their hair trimmed every 6 weeks apparently. That means I'd have to have twice as many visits to the hairdresser a year.

Now back in the days when I had a husband and was therefore deemed eligible to spoken to by the 'others' I know that they would spend at least £40 a visit. :o I should imagine it's probably a lot more than that now.

Let me just fumble with my calculator....
that's just shy of £700 a year and that's not including the more expensive visits for restyles, colourings, root upkeeps when the prices go sky high.

I've been colouring my own hair since I was a teenager and despite a right snotty hairdresser once telling me I should never do that as my hair would go green (as of yet it never has but then i've never yet picked up the green hair dye box) it's always fine.

I used to cut my own hair back in the daring teen and early 20's years. I have the photos of some of those creations, they bring much hilarity to the small people. I tend to just focus on the very thin, fresh skinned pretty kid that of course I never thought I was. Sigh!

Anyway where was I? Oh yes my crowning glory. My 'you must have a grow bag for brains your hair grows so quick' hair.

Over the last few years I tend to let it do it's own thing - growing. Then have it chopped to about shoulder length, then off it goes growing again, then after a year or two I go back and the process repeats. Everytime the hairdresser hunts for split ends and damage that will highlight the fact that I should be getting a trim on a regular basis and everytime they are disappointed.
Everytime I tell them I have had the same hairdryer for 20 years now but as they don't see me very often I guess they forget. It was my 21st birthday present and it's still like new. I'm sure it should be in the guiness book of records. :) Poor neglected thing rarely gets used, I wonder if the ghd's I had as a birthday present a couple of years back will last as long too.

As I said it's been a while since my last trim but my lovely 16 year old agreed to give it a go so this afternoon we took ourselves to the bathroom telling wee one we may be some time.

She trimmed the ends of my hair then applied the red that has been my colour of choice for nearly a year now.
I think she did a pretty amazing job.

I hope the sun keeps shining as it makes my hair look wild.

Frugal?

Hair cut - free and big one has now learnt a new skill.
Colour - £9.38 (my hair is so long it takes two boxes) but the application, rinse and condition was done all for free by my lovely big one. :)

So yes frugal and the bonus is all that one on one time with big one.

Hmpfh!

I've not blogged as I've been busy trying to enjoy the sunny days we've been having...


recovering from the mini camping in the garden trip.



trying to keep big one's stress levels at least on an even keel if not totally calm while she's taking her prelim exams (mocks)



trying to sort things out with the ex over our divorce.



trying to summon up some energy to get the million and one things on my to list done



but feeling a bit like there has been a black cartoon cloud hovering over my head all the time.

The smalls and I had a lovely Easter Sunday together today though and I'll tell you all about it and some other good stuff soon. ;)

Ouch!

Big one went off yesterday on yet another of her training weekends for her pending Malawi expedition leaving wee one and I at a loose end.

So 'call me crazy' because quite clearly I am! I thought I know, I'll set up our teepee in the garden and we can have a wee camping trip of our own.

I checked the weather forcast and it was fairly good, the odd chance of showers but fingers crossed they've not appeared - YET!

Wee one got very excited and set us up with crocheted blankets and pillows and after a wee trip to the local shop a few treats for watching a movie while we were tucked up all cosy in our sleeping bags.

So there we were, darkness fell, the dog decided he wasn't going to get left out thank you very much and joined us in the tent, thankfully there's plenty of room for his big bum too, even if he does snore like a trouper.

We munched on our crisps and kitkat pop thingys - very nice! Watching Marley and Me - sobbing our little eyes out. I knew it was a soppy one so we even had a box of tissues at the ready, just as well as wee one spilt her drink.

Then we read some more of our new Horrible Histories book by windup torchlight and then it was time to go to sleep.

WHY did I think we could forgo the inflatable mattress?!?!

Hour after uncomfortable hour went by and I couldn't get to sleep no matter how hard I tried. Wee one said she didn't sleep but I can vouch for the fact she was flat out and looking angelic as they do when they're off in the land of nod.

Come dawn break and the birds started twittering as they do, sleep finally decided to visit and I managed to snatch a quick nap before the sun lit up the tent and wee one was asking what was for breakfast.

My back!!! My hips!!! My spine!!!! Ouch!!!

They've all been very sore and achy all day today but we are about to enter the tent again for another night of home camping BUT I have already inflated the mattress AND popped open a bottle of vino to hopefully encourage the sleep fairy to visit me tonight.

The things I do to put a smile on my small people's faces. Worth it though :)

Sorry far too busy

spending time with my small people while they're off on their Easter holidays.
Yes you did read that right, in fact they go back to school on Monday the 18th.
Yes, that's right that's nowhere near Easter - so they've had their Easter holidays 2 weeks too early.
Fortunately they will get Good Friday off school and then the Royal Wedding Day too so that should help a bit. :)
Only problem is as they've been off for their Easter holidays already they're wanting their Easter eggs already LOL

As said I've been very busy, not just with the smalls but with things around the house too. Lots to share but sods law my card reader has decided now would be a good time to die so I can't get any photos off my camera.
Great more expense! And yes that was sarcasm. ;)

To all the Mums

"Mothers of teenagers know why animals eat their young." - Author Unknown

"Mothers are all slightly insane." - J.D. Salinger

"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." - Phyllis Diller

"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found." - Calvin Trillin


"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." - Tenneva Jordan

"There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." - Chinese Proverb

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back." - William D. Tammeus.


"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." - Mark Twain


Whether you receive a home made card, a bunch of flowers, an expensive gift that Daddy/Grandma/Mum's friend bought or nothing at all - the best gift you'll get today is two wee arms wrapped round your heart. I wish you all a beautiful day. Taz xxx

Busy, busy, busy

Well there have been another two trips. The nice man, who helps me unload my car, at the recycling centre and I are now definately on first name terms and he's even been telling me his 'bad' jokes. Trust me they're bad! LOL

This morning a friend called round to collect the home gym that the ex bought years ago, used twice and very 'kindly' left behind along with a whole other load of cr*p that I'm having to work through or maybe he thinks he can just leave his stuff here forever? I'm thinking after two years I can start insisting things leave right?


I did ask him to take the gym but he said he didn't want it and to do whatever I wanted with it. So I have. I made a half hearted attempt at selling it a while back but it was more trouble than it was worth and with my new clearing out rules firmly in my head it was time it just went.
So it is now living at my friend's house ready for when his son is home on leave so he can keep up with his training. :D


Then it was off to town to collect the two desks that I reserved online last night from Argos. Both reduced in their Spring sale and because I also bought a much needed lockable filing cabinet and my bill went over £100 I got a £10 voucher back. Result!
Before I picked them up though I quickly ran into good old Farmfoods to see what bargains were to be had. Is shopping at Farmfoods the same everywhere I wonder? You see loads of bargains but you can't buy too much as you can't park anywhere remotely close and those bags are heavy!

So a quick shop in FF's and a stop over at Lidl's and that's our meals sorted for a good wee while.

Then it was home to begin the build...



I think there must be something wrong with my technique as every single chuffing time I build a flat pack I end up with a blister on the palm of my hand. I obviously grip too tightly ;)

So wee one is now the proud owner of a new desk and is very excited to fill up all the drawers with all her art stuff and fill the pots on the wall hanging thingy I bought in Ikea yonks ago with all her pens. :) Yes I put that up too AND a mirror AND I took down an old tv stand that I think the ex had welded onto the wall as it was near impossible to get off but off it came. Hmmm actually I think that might actually explain the blister on my hand.

Tomorrow's job is to build up big one's desk who desperately needs it as she's cramming like mad for her upcoming pre-lim exams (mocks to those of you south of the border) and subsquent Highers (A Levels) and I'm sure she'd find it much better being able to work at a desk, well her back will thank her in years to come anyway LOL


Another job will be to tell you about the award I have been awarded by the lovely ME no not Me but the ME you'll get to meet if you click on the link ;)

Mother Earth

is surely telling us something.



My thoughts are with those that have been effected by the earthquakes and subsequent tsunami over in Japan and other parts of our dear planet.
I've been practically living on my Facebook as I have a friend that lives over there with her young family. Her updates are duly pounced on by all of us that have been worried. Sometimes modern technology sucks but it's times like this that I'm really grateful for it.

As always when these horrific things happen we all tend to pull those we love close to us and have tears in our eyes imagining what we would do if it was to happen to us.

(((((Hugs to all)))))

Bizarre

Last night I went out with a pal.

I drove as she doesn't drive.

But she doesn't drink so it was a very sober evening.

We had a lovely meal then went to a couple of pubs but there is really only so much fizzy pop a girl can drink.

So we had a coffee.


The town was really quiet so we hatched a plan.

And found ourselves in Asda doing some late night shopping.


My pal has never been late night supermarket shopping before so she found it all rather exciting.

My other pals are finding it hysterical that on a Saturday night out I was driving and ended up shopping.


At least that part of the evening was entertaining as later on I had to cope and deal with an extremely upset Big One. Let's just say it was very hard remaining civil to her Father this morning when he came to collect her. Grrrrr