What are we waiting for?

Why is it that i seem to have lots of things in waiting.I have things waiting to go to the tip(lots of things).I have an electric blanket waiting for a new plug,duvets waiting for summer to be washed,a garden table waiting to be sanded,rooms waiting to be decorated,a curtain pole waiting to be put up and the list goes on.Why is it these things never get done?because I'm still waiting for the right day to do them.

Which room is yours now?

That's usually the question that is asked by many of No 4's friends when they come round to spend time with her (I cant say play now shes 12!).Yesterday was the allocated day to take down her old bed,which was a bunk with a sofa underneath and swap to a single bed.Also to sort out every single item in her room all in a attempt to make it look more grown up!.Now all was going well.We had taken down the spare single bed that was in the attic bedroom,carried it down the attic stairs and we then left it on the small landing on the other staircase.This bed was on its way to a friends as we no longer needed it and they did.We then got the other single bed out of the under drawing and took that down to No 4s bedroom.We then dismantled the bunks and carried those up to the attic along with futon mattress(very heavy).The next step was to build the single bed.After this it was lunch time so i left her to it while i made sandwiches.Everyone came down to eat. when we eventually got back up stairs to my horror No 4 had emptied every single item from every drawer,cupboard, shelf and the wardrobe and had piled it all in the middle of the floor.After about half an hour of sorting,1 bin bag for charity,1 for rubbish,a pile on my bed to pass on to friends and one on my bedroom floor to put on freecycle.No 4 announced "I'm board now can i go round to Es?"Looking at the pile that didn't seem to have gone down any "No way" was the answer she got.From then on it was a long slow slog till 6pm when finally her bedroom was like a shiny tidy new room.We ran the vac round and she stood in the middle looking proud.In the mean time,i had to make tea and clean the kitchen,we couldn't really get up and down stairs as there was a bed in the way.On the landing stood 4 charity bags and i couldn't even get to my bed never mind get in it.I was just thinking it was going to be a long night when No 4 appeared looking thoughtful."I think i preferred it when i was in the other bedroom " she said.

Thanks for the memorys

Just in case it all goes tomorrow,here are some pictures .
Lindley clock tower

Daisy lee lane Lindley

Slaithwaite

Oakes

Slaithwaite
Huddersfield railway station

Slaithwaite again
Huddersfield railway station

Castle Hill Salendine nook high school

In the back garden

Drip Drip

Yesterday the snow seemed a little less solid so i managed to clear the drive and part of the path at one side of the house.Also the steps and a small path up to the front door.Big mistake.This morning it was like a ice rink!.Ah well.Its now 10am and the dripping has started.The icicles on the roof are remarkably smaller than yesterday and everywhere just looks soggy and wet.I can actually see a bit of green,a small patch of grass in our garden.The snow wasn't as deep there as i made a point of trying to keep it clear for the ground feeding birds.The forecast said we could get more snow by Wednesday next week.But for now the world is getting its colour back.

Meet the family

Meet Millie pig,she has very nibbled ears as when we got her she was in a hut with about 20 others.Millie lives with Ellie.I know some people say they shouldn't live together but they love each other.Millie snuggles under Ellie in the cold and they clean each other and play together.

Tinkerbell.A wild mouse rescued as a little jelly bean from Twiglets mouth.We had found the rest of her family all over the garden.As a dot she used to lap baby milk from the creases in my hand.We just had to save her.Shes very tame now and will happily fall asleep in your hand.Shes also very tasty looking for our 5 cats.Poor Tink.

Ellie-may.Ellie is our only boy.Yes i did say boy,by the time we got to the vets it was too late being such a clever rabbit he/she already answered to his/her name. Taome. The Apple Of My Eye.Tao for short is Tabitha's daughter.She is our quiet,timid, tiny little thing who keeps out of the way of all the madness going on around her while purring happily.

Twiglet .Twiggy is boss and a bully.She is Tbags daughter and will give anyone who gets in her way a swipe(naughty girl)

Taome sat on her mum Tabitha .I just had to add this one(poor tabby)

Tabitha ,Tabby or flabitha as some call her,Is our mum to everyone.She is very maternal and will happily love anything from a pair of socks to the guinea pig.If you placed a tiny kitten in front of her she would love it and lick i until you had a very soggy puss.

A evil looking Lilo .As in lilo and stitch.She is our mischievous,playful cat.Chasing anything and everything.Shes the baby of the family and the little kitten Tabitha made soggy.

Tbag (Twiglets mum) yawn.That all she does.She is sooooo laid back.I'm surprises she doesn't fall over.The vet once asked me if she caught birds?"Only if one fell in her mouth while she was yawning" i said.
In our house we have a pecking order.First its the children,then the cats next is Ellie-may the rabbit,then Millie the guinea pig, and Tink the mouse.Last I'm pretty sure its me.(The one with the food and the one who cleans up after everyone)

The fright of my life

This morning everything was going to plan,the girls were up and ready for school on time,We even got out of the door on time.Then the car would not open, the locks were frozen solid.I went back in to boil a kettle and No 3 and her friend set of walking to school .It was very slippy under foot and on the radio this morning there was a lot of warnings of black ice.After (i know you shouldn't)pouring boiling water over the windscreen and back window i poured it over the locks and my key and we were off.No 2 was on board as he was getting a lift to work mumbling something about no buses.

Now the first time i started to worry was when we were nearly at No 3s placement school.To my left there appeared to be a worried looking crowd and cars backed up all in a side street.They were trying to reverse back out in to the road we were coming down.As we passed the road we could see 2 cars spinning.I don't mean the wheels i mean the cars.spinning round, front to back.It was very scary.We got safely to No 3s school.She got out of the car and i waved her off.As she crossed the zebra crossing in front of me her legs shot from under her she flew up in the air and landed in a heap.I jumped out of the car and nearly fell,A elderly man tried to get to her but his feet were just going from under him.Eventually one of the teachers from the school in big walking boots grabbed her and got her up and off the road.She then signaled to me to wait and the teacher helped her back across and back to the car.School was closed!

She wasn't too hurt just really shook up.We drove carefully to N0 2s work and dropped him.2 minutes later a text,"can you come back for me we are closed".I turned around in a road junction.I knew I'd lost control right away and i could feel the back end of the car going.The thing was this junction was at the top of a slight hill,i knew if i didn't get control we'd be down it.I couldn't do anything and panicked.No 3 was saying "its ok, its ok"and i was thinking No its not but we stopped,i don't know how but thank you God we stopped.After a few minutes i went very slowly to pick up No 2. We drove home at 20 miles an hour.We saw at least 8 people on the floor or falling.There had been 45 car crashes in our town before 10am.I am never going out again! It was so bad they have named it black ice Wednesday.

Fireplaces

Well i did attempt to open up the fireplaces.No 3s was fine .Id looked at that one in the summer,we took the front off and it just needed a vac and a wash.There is some paint that needs a touch up but with some candles or a vase in it should look fine.No 4s was a no go,someone has previously painted over the tiles in a mustard yellow colour.I shut that back up and maybe will try with some paint stripper in the summer.

Mine however was another story.It took a good hour to get the front off,and another hour to clean up all the soot that fell down!Everything was covered in a thin black layer.With a dust pan i filled 2 black bin liners of soot,twigs and bird seed from the fireplace its self then gave it a vac and a wash.I was happy to find the grate still in place as all the others have long since gone.The only problem now is that when you look up the chimney its packed with soot that i know if i don't get down may just come down all on its own.

Picture the scene a woman in her decorating clothes under an old curtain held on top of the fireplace with big stones(that took a while to find from under the snow in the garden)dustpan in one hand,cat litter tray in the other(it was the only thing i could find that would fit).Now i know the minute i prod the soot it will all come down.I don't know how much is up there or if the cat litter tray will actually catch it all.I first gave a little prod,a few bits fell.Then a harder prod,a few more bits.Then i shoved and it all fell!I came out from under that sheet looking like id been down a mine,and yet again everything was covered in a think black layer of dust.ahh well.Lots of cleaning later and i don't think it looks too bad.Its not a great picture but not bad for the worst days work i have ever done.

Grandma would have been proud

No 3 didn't appear until lunch time today,No 4 and her friend had been up a while(well a couple of hours anyway).I had been as always when i have a bit of time catching up on my favorite blogs.I noticed that in Rattling on's blog she had pictures of her Victorian door bell.Carrying the laptop displaying the photos,i stood outside in the snow in dressing gown and slippers.Looking at the doorbell outside our door .It had never worked and was cover in different coloured layers of peeling paint.She had mentioned that hers was actually brass,so that became the project for the day.All my good intentions for the day went out of the window.After weeding the flower bed under the doorbell in the summer i found out quite painfully that the door bell wasn't attached and was just resting there in the wall.So after 4 hours of washing and paint stripping then a whole lot of braso and elbow greece i now am the proud owner of a beautiful shining Victorian doorbell.The thing is its now so lovely i don't want to put it back in the wall in case someone takes a fancy to it.So tomorrows job:off to the diy store for cement i think.

The madness begins

Well I'm sure by now you are all fed up of hearing about and seeing this snow.I love snow and could willingly sit inside and look at it all day.
The thing is when it goes on this long you just have to get on with well life. No 4 is just going back to school this morning since being sent home Tuesday.
 No 3 went to her placement school yesterday and No 2 went into work yesterday.
So this morning was all systems go.It was extremely cold even with the heating on but get up we must.. I must say they managed to force themselves .
 We have been sleeping with the electric blankets on low (ours are the type you can some older ones its very dangerous so you need to check). I got up around 5am and it was minus 10.
 I turned the girls blankets off before i woke them or they would never get out of bed.

All went well and i cleared the car of ice and took them up the road.The paths are still far too icy to be safe.
On the way back down i rang No 3 to say i was nearly there and would run him into work at which point he replied "I'm stuck" Stuck where? How could he be stuck he was safely in his flat.But that was it he was in his flat and both doors(wooden)were very tightly frozen shut.Well a lot of pulling and pushing followed,i went and brought a hammer (its a good job he only lives across the road)That didn't work, he fetched the hair dryer.That didn't work.In the end we gave up.He rang into work with the strangest excuse they had ever heard.Eventually by lunch time the temperature had warmed up a bit and he finally got out.

Schools out

After watching the weather forecast last night,we were warned more snow was on the way.It was due to hit us around 3am and we were going to get around 4 inch.The girls had already decided that school and college would be closed so there was just no point in waking them up!.I said i,d set the alarm just in case.This morning i woke and half wondered should i even bother getting up but i thought id take a peek out side and see if it was up to the windows yet.Throwing open the curtains there it was, just the same amount as yesterday!.It didn't look like it has done anything.
I apologetically woke the girls and with groans of disbelief they got up.By the time breakfast was on the table the snow had started to fall,and by the time everyone had washed,brushed teeth and hair and applied a mountain of make up the school closures were being read out on the radio.To No 4s amazement her school was open as usual.I said i,d take them in the car.No4 school and No 3s college are on the same campus and 10 minuets walk away from home.It took us 10 minutes in the car to get there and another half an hour for me to get back home.I just pulled on to the drive when No3 appeared behind me, they had sent them home.It was now coming down really heavy.We kept checking No 4s school website but it said the school was still open.At last at 10.30 the teachers must have begun to worry they may not get home or worse still the kids mightn't not get home and they'd be stuck with them for the night.They closed the school and at last were all together watching the 6 hours of snow fall we've had so far.
No 4 has a friend over,shes at a different school that's also closed.They are making up cake recipes and baking them.If there is no post on here from me tomorrow you know why.But the good news is,the bin men got here before the snow!