Sheets!

Does anyone in England have winter / summer sheets? I never did. Still don’t. It seems that I own only summer sheets – Percale, smooth cotton sheets – mostly from John Lewis or M&S I think. Mark however, has a vast array or winter sheets. He calls them Flannelette. I think they are probably Winceyette! I spent May and June steadfastly refusing to change to Mark’s warm ones, until one day there they were. I’m not sure whether Mark felt that I was a little tardy in my sheet changing habits or whether he was just cold, but at 11.00 at night, when you are met with a fait accompli, the only thing to do is to graciously thank your charming chap for changing the bed and get in for a snuggle. And, Oh My God, they are lovely!!! You know when you get into a normal bed in the winter, it takes a while to warm up? Actually, maybe it doesn’t – maybe in England the central heating just keeps the whole house so snug that the sheets don’t get cold, I can’t remember! Either way, in New Zealand, in winter, without central heating, beds are cold when you get into them - well, not with Flannelette sheets they’re not! I am converted – I must have turned Kiwi! I will never be rude about Mark’s sheets again – except for the burgundy ones! Can you even buy Flannelette sheets in England? If not, maybe this is my chance to make a fortune? And yes I know about electric blankets – just never taken to them!

Of course now that spring seems to have sprung there is talk of the winter sheets being relegated to the linen cupboard before long. And Oh My God what a linen cupboard!! It has 4 shelves that are nearly 2 meters long and 600mm deep! Not only does it hold all the sheets and towels in the entire world, it is big enough that it fits enough duvets, blankets and pillows to equip a small dormitory! And there is also a space for my Dyson, and the summer stashed heaters! Boys, I know will not appreciate the wonderfulness of this creation, except maybe in the beauty of it’s construction – Girls on the other hand, I think will understand my enthusiasm and glee! I am sooooo moved by my linen cupboard that I may even post a picture on my blog!

I seem to have deviated from the point. How unusual!!

Spring!! We have it. It has arrived. You can’t have it back for another 6 months! We have Daffodils. We have Poppies. I am warm by the time that I get to work in the morning – Puss Puss has started shedding her winter coat and the girls have started to wear flip flops again, instead of boots! Yesterday it was sunny enough that I hung the washing in the open, not under cover. And on Sunday, the clocks SPRING forward! The New Zealand government has decided that we need a longer summer. They seem to be under the impression that this will occur just by putting the clocks forward a week early! Personally, I am not entirely sure that this will make a blind bit of difference, but hey, the evenings will be lighter.

Since last blogging, life has been chaos. Mark had his thumb operation, which meant that he had to spend two weeks in plaster. They had done what is known as a Tendon Transfer operation. Ages ago he had pinged the tendon in his thumb. There are two - one which lets you grip, the other one which allows you to pull the thumb back. Mark snapped the one that pulls back. Apart from not being able to do the thumbs up sign, I’m not sure what else you need it for, but Mark tells me that it’s quite annoying not having that ability.

ANYWAY… To mend it, they nick one of the unused tendons which are attached to the index finger – and it seems that they then intertwine it with the remains of the snapped tendon until it binds. In the meantime, no movement at all for 2 weeks. No driving. No cooking. No doing up shoe laces. No writing. No typing. Zip. Mark not very impressed! Particularly with my driving, but there’s another story – and I now have every excuse never to drive him again! Since the plaster came off, Mark now has a moulded removable cast. He gets to do physio weekly and so far all seems to be coming on well. Not much pain, scars healing well, hair on his forearm regrowing and thumb doing what the Dr expects it to be able to do!

The day after the thumb op, Becs had her school production, Troy Story. Have to say that it was very good. Usually the productions are really girl oriented but this time there were swords, battles, a huge Trojan horse and a lot of very dramatic stage deaths! Somehow the school manages to extend what is intended to be a mid size school show into an event of epic proportions. Every child in the school is in it, all 440 of them. Meantime, my little Becs ended up being a belly dancer, shimmying her rather weeny derriere at the audience! She was fab! Not that her mother is remotely biased of course!

We had Bo (Mark’s Mum) and Floss to stay while Mark was recuperating, and they were absolutely wonderful. Floss did nearly as many taxi runs as I did, and Bo was there entertaining the kids, entertaining Mark, getting the washing on and off the line – I may well have to adopt them!

Becs also finished her netball season. Their team came 4th in her league. They missed the second position by 3 points! Meantime, the whole team have signed up for ‘Twilight’ or Summer netball which means I have another 6 weeks of standing shouting on the sidelines! Lou is continuing her reffing career – and conveniently the last match is the week before we head North!

Boo’s netball team also finished their season. They won their league and celebrated with a Mongolian BBQ together. Love Lou’s netball. Becca’s team is composed entirely of her friends, which is lovely, but Lou’s team is made up of kids from all over the school, which I think has been really good for her – and she seems to have a bit of popularity on the team, which she’s enjoying and which does a mother’s heart good to see.

Last week we had production 2. Birkdale Intermediate, Lou’s school, put on Annie. Lou was an orphan and revelled in the fact that she was allowed / encouraged to look like a scuzzy little dirtball all week! Show was great – and was only slightly flawed by much of male half of the cast being on the verge of their voices breaking!

Productions now done, Lou gets to do another one next year – Becca gets to wait till 2009 when she’ll be a year 6 and up for one of the main parts maybe?!

Oh, and Lou did her first Dance competition. Didn’t win but loved it. She now has gold, high heeled dance shoes which seem to move her to practice all the time. Sadly flute practice has gone out of the window!

In the midst of all the mad dashing about I grew a year older. Had my 43rd birthday a week or so back. Mark told me we could go anywhere I fancied for dinner, so I chose the beach, with a take away – and it was about as lovely as birthdays get. Soph took the girls out for a walk with Jock, her Jack Russell, and then took them home for supper and bed – and I got to listen to the waves and be quiet with my lovely man for an hour or so. Was magic! We were home by 8.30! So sad! I must be getting old!

Girls are now on school holidays and are being spoilt rotten by Mark’s Mum and Floss in Katikati this week. They’ve been bowling, for picnics, on the beach and to the hot pools – don’t think they are missing me and Mark at all! House is very quiet – and Mark and I have been taking advantage of their absence by….. painting! Still!! Study is now done. One coat of the bedroom is now done. Wardrobe not yet done, but carpet is being laid regardless next Tuesday. Then I will start putting up pictures!

Next year, maybe I will paint the rumpus. Maybe we will repaint the living room. Mark will be doing the garden – he is planning something with crushed shells I think. I don’t care as long as it has a bench and a table in it and the washing doesn’t hang over where I want to read my book! Sometime we will have to sort out the roof – no point fixing the laundry room up till that is done, but no real hurry – it’s easy to shut the door on it!

……and……

Earlier today, my tummy turned over and my eyes welled up (and no I am not exaggerating!) when I realised that it is only 9 weeks till we get to England.

I don’t know whether I will ever be able to explain how I feel about coming home for a visit. I love living here. I love that I can see the sea and Rangitoto on the way to work. I love the Auckland skyline and the bigness and blueness of the sky. There is no doubt in my mind that this is absolutely the place that I am meant to be. BUT, I never dreamed that I wouldn’t see home for 6 years. I can’t believe that I’ve never met my nephew, and that I’ve missed his baby and toddler years completely. Can’t believe that I have friends who have divorced and lived through cancer and I haven’t been there to hug them or to drink wine with them. Hate that my Dad is 76 and his knees are creaking and I don’t see him every Thursday anymore.

There was a time, a while after John left, when, financially, things were so frighteningly tight that I wasn’t sure I would ever see England again – or more to the point, any of the people that live there. I remember this slow dawning of a realisation breaking on me on my way over the bridge to work one morning. It was a devastatingly beautiful morning – the city was gleaming in the sun – it was a day that usually would have seen me grinning idiot like on the bus. But it kicked into reality just how far away the London Underground was; how far away Maidenhead train station – Kent – France! Just everywhere seemed to be a lifetime away. When something seems to be an impossibility, the only way to stay sane is to stop thinking about it.

And now, here it is. Nearly. Sorry for droning. Just huge right now. Sorry for being military in my planning. Sorry for counting down the days (65 btw). Sorry that I won’t see some of you at all – and those that I do see, sorry that it will only be fleetingly.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! Terrified of all the people at Heathrow airport. Terrified of M25. Fairly sure that within 2 days of getting off the plane I will be dying for a walk along Takapuna beach! – but soo longing to see everyone.

Will try and blog again before we leave – but can’t promise – fairly sure that I will not be very organised in that department!

Huge hugs

Let me know if you want me to bring over any flannelette sheets!!

xxxxx