Subject?

I don’t seem to have written much of late. Part of me thinks this is a good thing as, I’ll confess, faced with a lengthy post, I am liable to skim unless it’s gripping/well written/funny; and I can’t be the only one. So unless I’ve been inspired by something specific this is more like a diary of events… and I don’t really do events, just daily life in my corner of the world. This too may be a good thing: there is something comforting about reading about life going on as usual when the news is almost always grim: disaster not success, death not birth. But I suspect blogging should have more of a point.

I should be showcasing my stuff for sales – writing/cooking/craft – or hoping to get noticed – a book deal for my brilliant idea a la Julie and Julia – or something witty and erudite to save the world. Ha!

Meantime you’ll have to put up with a photo of something in flower in my garden/a piece of furniture/a cake, and a brief note to tell you I’m still alive.
I am!

Being a Happy Mother

I may not be doing well at keeping an interesting and informative commentary on the life of this hausfrau, but I have had a busy week:

I have turned 10 sad, pilled cushion covers into 5 revamped ones for  Friendwithmatchinggirls for a small fee.

I have cleaned and tidied the bits of the house that show for a fete meeting on Friday and a supper party last night; making apple and walnut muffins for one and liver parfait, beetroot and orange soup, chocolate, chilli and walnut braised beef and an iced raspberry soufflé in a chocolate case for the other.

I have bought fabric for my new upholstery project, finished stripping back the chair so I could mend the springs and started the refurbishing task.


Oh, and I’ve promised the chair to Oldschoolfriend for the cost of the components. She has just embarked on a major upgrade of her house and is feeling down at the enormity of the disturbance to her home which is such that it makes relaxing at the end of the day impossible.

Today I have received cards from my girls and rather different rewards for being their mother: Youngest gave me two bars of chocolate that she’s rather hoping I’ll share and deigned to provide quality time by helping me to clean and tidy (her mess from) the room in which her Spanish Exchange student will be sleeping come Thursday. Eldest, on the other hand, has taken over the kitchen today. We were given eggy bread with fried apples followed by ginger and pear muffins for brunch; are shortly to be called to treacle soda bread and honey for tea and are to be treated this evening to a three course supper that she has been planning all week!

Missed opportunity

I left work nineteen years ago. I had a career in management in the clothing industry, first in production and later in sales. To get there I went to college and studied Clothing Management, a four year Diploma recognized by the industry and becoming degree equivalent after a further two years in a ‘responsible management position’. I was a career girl for eleven years and didn’t consider other possibilities before I met Husband. Having spent our first two years of marriage living in different counties we decided not to live in two different countries. We took the view together that we would want to bring up our hoped for children ourselves and we wanted to share a home. I gave up work as the one of us who would have said children and followed HM Forces directions to Germany.

While I have occasionally set out to explain just how much parity I had with Husband at the time I chose to stop paid work, mostly I haven’t regretted my decision: I am lucky to have a busy and happy life and a family of whom I am proud. Despite gentle teasing from Husband and Mefromafar I have found no motivation to return to paid work.
I remind you of this because I recently applied for a job! A Textile Technician at the local comprehensive: no pupil contact, just supporting the Textile Teacher by tidying and advising on ordering her fabric and commodities, threading machines and filling bobbins, setting out the classroom , cutting out fabric as required and being very flexible for a whole five hours of employment on two days. It sounded like something right up my street that I could do standing on my head and that would fit in with all the other things I do, so I applied.
I was invited to an ‘informal interview’. Unsure what such a term meant I concluded that either I was the only applicant, or there would be some sort of practical test of my sewing machine and fabric knowledge. I was wrong. Five ladies turned up at the same time with the same invitation. We were divided into two groups taking it in turns to be told about the job by the Head of Department and given a tour by the Textiles Teacher. There was no test and no individual interview. The other woman in my group had also been in the industry, as a Fabric Buyer. Younger than me I think, and less managery, so, if I’d been the teacher choosing between us, I’d have picked her as qualified but less of a threat (cynic!). I didn’t get a real impression of the other three though the teacher implied they weren’t from the industry, but capable crafters.
Apparently school had been surprised to receive ten applications and called in five of them. They remarked that they didn’t know how they were to decide and we should all be proud to have got this far… I don’t know how they were going to decide either, but I haven’t heard anything more and must presume they selected one of the others.
My armour is undented: flexible hours may have been me being flexible, i.e. required on Mondays and Wednesdays when I currently volunteer in the primary school; a behind the scenes job that would still need me to change out of my jeans for a couple of hours but into something I could climb in (lots of high shelves to sort) and not worry about fabric dust; little contact with the rest of the DT staff because of working when the students aren’t there; debatable whether there would be opportunity to expand the role… I sound relieved don’t I? I am!

Just idle

It is my last day at home alone until September and I have failed to decide what to do with it.
There are, of course, many useful chores I could do around the house and garden but that seems rather a waste of the day. I could tidy up, but since they'll all be on holiday from the end of today the house will no doubt be a mess again by bedtime. I could do the laundry, but that multiplies daily, so tomorrow would do. The front patio needs weeding, it's pots dead-heading and the pyracantha pruning, but I could do that over the weekend when I need to escape the house. There's work to do in the back garden too, but I probably won't get to it today. My list of rooms that need decorating hasn't got shorter this (academic) year, so there's no point starting that now. And my re-upholstering of the dining-room chairs has come to a halt for no reason other than that I'm being lazy. A nice man cleaned my windows yesterday (at vast expense) so it would be sensible to do the insides, but I'm rubbish at windows... The trouble with hausfrau tasks is that they rarely have a permanent solution: they always need doing again!
Husband still has a piece of written work to complete before Bath University can sign him off as a newly qualified teacher, and Eldest is helping run a summer school at her ballet school all next week, so Youngest and I will be able to have some time together shopping for the other twos' birthdays. So no need to shop today.
I may just idle around the blogosphere, listening to Radio 4... I'll need another coffee, and I expect there's a chocolate chip muffin somewhere.

Twenty and happy

I have been married twenty years today. We met in April the year before and became pretty much inseparable (circumstances allowing). We had a couple of years living in different counties for work purposes so started up with a fairly even distribution of household chores and breadwinning. There is certainly an argument to be made for us both continuing to work. We’d probably have been materially richer, but we would have needed major childcare help and would have spent a greater part of our married life apart.

We lead a quiet, homey sort of life that suits us. We discovered early on that neither of us was good at a fight: we both sulk in a childish fashion. So while we have our disagreements we are usually able to see one another’s viewpoint and come to a compromise of some sort. (Our most famous row took place whilst driving down the M1 as to the pros and cons of Radio 1 versus Radio 3 – pop vs. classical for those of you without access – which resulted in us listening to Radio 4 (talk in many varieties). Husband still tunes into 3 when not listening to 5 Sport, but 4 is my permanent companion.)
When we met we earned similar salaries and had similar ambitions – I had intended to remain a career girl and had little interest in children. But I chose a guy in the Army, and I had picked an industry that was going to struggle to allow for the amount of movement we would have to tolerate for Husband’s career, and we both wanted children. As you know I am a hausfrau! It wasn’t what I planned, but both Mother and Grandmother set a fine example of supportive, fulfilled wife.
It can be a tough job! It can be lonely, you can feel unappreciated, particularly by your children, and the simple fact of the repetitive, never-endingness of housework can be tedious, BUT… I know that Husband could not get through life without me, that the girls are capable when necessary and present a polite and charming face to the world (and we love each other most of the time), and that housework can always wait - so long as there are clean clothes somewhere, and food in the fridge!


So, today I have flowers and a card, Husband will make scrambled eggs with smoked salmon for supper, there is a bottle of champagne in the fridge, the girls will eat pizza, and I’m off to find a recipe for some sort of puddingy chocolate cake that we can all enjoy. It might take me all day, or I might make some more marmalade, or play with my upholstery, or curl up with my wedding album; and I will do almost no chores!

That Pie

I'm afraid it was not a success! The Quorn and Mushroom Pie looked beautiful, but while Husband and I ate it with the resignation of people who had been brought up to eat whatever was put on our plates 'because children in Africa are starving' the girls pushed it around and barely made an impression. So the one made 'for real' in class yesterday is still sitting on the worktop while I summon the courage to abandon my principles and throw perfectly good food away - except it isn't. I don't know if I can re-freeze Quorn as I would meat now that it's cooked? Then I could serve it up to the next vegetarian who crosses my threshold - do they want to eat it any more than my family? I shan't be giving you the recipe.

Am very hopeful about some shortbread that is waiting to be baked having found a promising recipe at another hausfrau site (see my bloglist). It is all rolled out in its plastic bag chilled and ready for the next step. Have a vision of delighted children arriving home from school to find fresh home baking though I predict that one of them won't like it, and the other will devour the lot! There are a limited number of things I can make that they'll both eat as I've detailed before. Last weekend Youngest made Cornflake Chocolate Crispies and Eldest refused to eat them 'because Youngest made them' - although she didn't call her anything so friendly.

On a different note Husband has gone off to uni today after two days at home. At present the new life remains a rather fun novelty, though I suspect the need to provide lunch may take the shine off the whole thing. Lectures start properly next week so watch this space.

Why blog?

Absolutely staggered this morning to find I have a comment: I've been found out in my bottom drawer in the cellar! Was carefully refraining from commenting on anyone else's blog so I wouldn't be discovered... Not that I don't want to be read, just thought that there would come a moment when I would be saying something beautifully and not just randomly rambling. I wonder how I'd know?

I've been surfing to see who else might be out there and was amused to find a kuche full of hausfraus! I've added the two I enjoyed most to my list of blogs to follow. Also went to look for seamstresses, but almost everyone seemed to embroider or knit. I've had my moments - embroidery as part of my O and A level Needlework, and a bit for pleasure, and knitting with everyone else when we went through a phase at school - but my ability doesn't really lie in that direction. I like the speed with which a garment can be produced from ready made fabric and am too lazy to knit the bits first.

The blog I fell in love with when I was following my nose is Gluten-Free Girl. Her writing style is lovely and I've decided to send her book to my wheat intolerant friend on the strength of her blog. Will let you know. I may have to loose one of the hausfraus as I was horrified to read that she had made coconut macaroons with chocolate ganache. It sounds just too sweet to me, I can't think why you'd make anything other than the classic almond mixture with just an almond on top. On that note I'm off to make an apricot and almond cake full of gluten and completely delicious!