Author Archives: HHaricot

We are each making a tile panel. These are awaiting firing then glazing

Due to blog and Flickr not talking there has been a ticksheet hiatus on the blog! Also the last 2 weeks have been ticksheet free, though education persisted!

suddenly the house seems very much quieter without FrB. it may be a quieter with 2 rather than 3 kids thing, but I think it was that FrB was quite a noisy kid . SB has written a lovely tribute to her on the blog, and has had a great year, but is older, getting on with things, and thinking that they will get to keep in touch, so taking it ok despite spending the last year together. BB is, as anticipated, devastated. she has cried several times and really misses FrB. One of the things it took me a while to imperfectly get used to was the high octane emotionality of their relationship. they were having crazy fun together one minute and shouting and misinterpreting each other the next. it gradually got more crazy fun and less shouty, but it was always noisy. SO BB has lost her best playmate for the last 6 months and is feeling down. we can’t move the lego, cos it was frb game, and it makes her cry to think about it, sylvanians makes her cry, and she is bored without the wildness. Tho SB more or less willing, she is now a teen, and not really such a regular crazy playmate, it is more of a special effort [and I have asked her to make it]. if we let her spend all her time on the computer, i guess it would be alright, as M and E as well as friends B and R are there to skype and minecraft, however i do like her to have some ‘real life’ too. We discussed this, and she does agree, but it is hard.

SB has been steadily morphing teenwards. She loves listening to music on ipod as prob fav thing number one! But we have been looking to the future about home ed, and what she wants to achieve. SHe def wants to go to university, though not a definite what to actually study yet, and so wants to get a few exams. She def wants to do french and has signed up for classicla civ, which came a bit out of the blue and we are contemplating everything – there will be a mission statement to follow! She has certainly got ready with a tidy desk and a folder and enthusiasm . I guess this seems that it will be the first year of ‘real’ hard home ed!

SO, to help with both of them, this week we have got back to some structure, some home ed and lots of hugs, love, laughter and craft. we have gone to MIL to cheer her up as i think the enormity of loss has dawned on her and DH and DH has been and sorted things for her too. We have also played a lot of games. Deep breaths for all moving on in different ways.

Fast flowing forest fellers

Virginie and Eric came to pick up FrB. We had had a long and terrible journey from our holiday home, so had v little time to prepare, and less house tidying that hoped for! FrB and I made the dinner she had chose and pudding – chilli sausage hotpot and then a cream tea afterwards! [i know, slightly weird!] and we chatted in the evening. in the morning they got crumpets for breakfast – which I think they thought a bit weird too!!! but FrB loves them. and finally, after some goodbye photos, they left and caught the train home. so there we go, our years en famille adventure is finished, and it feels kinda weird too! but i hope that we have made a connection that the girls can keep, and certianly have a planned swap of holidays next year.

and to celebrate, DH has fixed flickr widget!

so, a beginning and end shot

As they would say, sisters forever!

so, to change the mood around, we set off on holiday to mudeford, shared with my parents and my nephew and niece. we were staying at sandhills which is right on the beach. It is a place with memories. my sister and i had holidays with my parents in mudeford as children, and also with nanny and grandad at highcliffe. Then, soon after my sister’s diagnosis of breast cancer we all went to sandhills for a holiday. so there is a soothing time element, of feeling us all there.

the day we arrived was M’s birthday – he is now 14! – and loved his presents, giggled madly over the plastic giraffe from BB!! and loved his party tea and cake, and us all making a fuss of him. amongst the presents, we also bought him minecraft, and since the holiday, he has played it nearly non stop! so that was a good present . the kids had a lovely holiday together, and get on very well.

we had a timetable for most days – brekkie, swimming in the pool, lunch, beach and then crabbing/kiting/games. we did have 2 excursions – one to highcliffe castle which I am fairly certain we visited in 1977! and once to hurst castle . Both were good trips. highcliffe as interesting, some clothes to try on for FrB, which she loves! and a great cafe – I had a cream tea = yummy. DH and the 2 big girls walked back to the camspite along the beach. Hurst was bigger and more to do. the ferry ride there and back is lovely, and the tudor defence is interesting to walk round, and we could see the similarity with deal in kent. The modern bit also houses a rather lovely bijou lighthouse museum. Again a cafe, and lunch this time! afterwards we walked to the lighthouse and looked at all the yachts for cowes week.

otherwise we mostly swam in the pool, visited the beach and on the last day the tide was really out, so it felt you could walk to the isles of wight! we also ferried across the spit and tried out the beach on the other side – which was nicer DH left his phone on the ferry, but thankfully it was still there. A fair bit of scootering and games playing. not so much crafting as the weather was so fabulous. [v lucky ] mostly all was lovely. some up and down kids moments – to be expected! – but mostly managed .

on the last evening we went out for a meal at the restaurant on the beach and really loved it. the kids were well behaved, and ate well, and the atmosphere was nice. it rained a complete downpour as we walked home tho! the big 2 took lots of selfies, as it was the last day of FrB being ours. big deep breath.

thankyou all for a lovely holiday.

International sisters

He took pics of me and parents to make sure a photo for our funeral service! In outrage I have taken what we are terming his ‘death photo’

as such things go, it went well. we all got there, chris’s brother and kids were there, we just dont really see them enough. jane was dressed in a posh outfit she has worn on cruises with john, and that was lovely. all 3 of my kids did us proud. the service had lots of family and friends. I think i would have wanted to say a bit more about how much of a family man john was, and how he cared deeply for family and relationships. I think he would have been proud of how we scrubbed up, but clearly the wake and after would have been better with him there giving a rousing version of a number of his stories!

It was nice to feel part of the family, and hug and grieve with others. it was good that DH and his brother got chance to talk and be. It was a shame that it had to be at johns funeral tho. I was glad my parents made it, and so had FrB and BB whilst the rest of us went to the crematorium. both had sung the hymns in the service, and both were tearful afterwards, and gave each other hugs whilst we were gone.

i took photos, I am never sure really that this is really respectable. but it is good to mark family being together, particularly those we dont often see. and we did take some excellent photos of jane with children and grandchildren.

RIP John x

The theme of this week has been goodbye. Having lost grandad, his funeral was on Friday. We are all still coming to terms with this grief in our different ways. He was always such a family man and the girls were apples of his eyes! They are both very much working out how to deal with the loss.

A less permanent loss but still sad for us all is FrB imminent departure. So a sad week alround with emotional wobbles from all. FrB has been packing all her things up, seeing people for the last time, feeling sad. We hadn’t realised just how much ‘stuff’ she has, and have suggested her parents bring another bag. She also has realised she might have left clothes behind at different places we stayed, but since she has gained 5cm and an equivalent weight in kg, I am not sure any of her clothes are going to fit for much longer.
Weds for my day off we went to Ely cathedral , discussed English perpendicular architecture, the effect of the reformation with headless statues and traces of paint. Was a lovely outing, and perfect weather. We learned a fair bit too, and the cathedral is wonderful and peaceful. The girls all lit a candle for grandad and thought of him. Although we are not religious, grandad was a practising baptist, and so we hoped that he is in heaven waiting for nanna, and gossiping with his brother and sister.
We ate lunch in the cafe, bb was rather emotional and so some wheeling and dealing was done. she isn’t quite sure how to process the loss really, so we went to the sweet shop afterwards and chose some old fashioned sweets. That took quite a while!
Afterwards we popped into cromwells house and discussed the civil war and how it made huge changes. again more religion stuff, and monarchy stuff with a side dish of france!
Friday was the day of grandad s funeral and will get a post of its own when I am back from holiday