wrapping it up..........

And just like that it was time to wrap it all up.

I left the day in Cambridge with a bit of a migraine, nothing bad, just a migraine that I get all the time but it morphed over 4 days into one from hell and Jeanne ended up taking me to the Dr.,  where I received 2 shots on the spot that did nothing...insert the saddest, most pain riddled face ever, and a prescription for the shots I have here at home which, did help but only for 3 freaking hours. I lost an entire day. Urghh this whole migraine thing pissses me off.

So the girls spent a day with nanny and grandpa, their win and I spent a day in bed, my loss.

My seester showed up super early to help pack and drive us to the airport . Not sure if I have ever mentioned this before but my seester is the queen of packing, She truly can get 10lbs of shit in a 5lb bag. And I had lots of the aforementioned 5lb bags...hah.

One of the our absolute favourite days there is a day spent with Nanny. Every year nanny says to Lily, what would you like for your birthday and Lily says, Oh Nanny can we go shopping to that place, cos Lily has no idea where that place is but she just loves it. And that is what we do. We can literally spend an entire day ( hangs head in shame) shopping in 2 shops. We break for lunch in M&S and then we go right back to shopping and we do 6 months to a years worth of overseas shopping in one haul. Even Rosie loves it. and she does not like to shop. at all. one bit. Every now and again we have to stop and make a trip to the car cos we have just way too many bags so when it is time to pack I turn to big seester for help and she always laughs and says this is easy I don't understand why you can't do it. And I say cos they were full when we got here and now... well now there is no chance! If ever they open these shops in Miami we will never shop there as this is a Nanny and Lily tradition and it WOULD NOT be the same.

Add to this epic shopping day haul all the bits and bobs, the tools, the chocolate, oh I had a tonne, I had 5lbs alone for one very special client, more germolene than you can shake a stick at, a little wooden chest of drawers~ not even kidding here, you get the idea and the oddest item of all.....

this typewriter

OMG...sorry about the garden nippers on the table. LMAO. 

Lily saw it in a fabulous little vintage shop, it's in brand new condition, including it's case. Initially she wanted a really really old one but when she saw this one and saw the price, a steal, she had to get it.It works perfectly and she loves it, it even came with a spare ribbon still in its tin. Score. I decided I'd worry about the logisitics of getting it back closer to the time LOL. This ended up being Lily's "lap-top" allowance in her hand luggage and when it went through the x-ray machine it caused the technician to say, what the hell is this? A man came over and said, it's a typewriter and after a few minutes of inspecting the machine, it's fine! To which she replied, I've never seen one of these before. She was a young security lady.

 So my seester worked her magic for mere minutes whilst I stared and pretended my head didn't hurt too much. Her head hurt too, same thing, weird huh? and then it was time for the moment that we all dread. The one where my children break their freaking hearts and the one where my Father looks like someone has punched him in his heart. The man who never lets on if something is wrong apparently disappeared to his workshop for an entire day. His wife stands there knowing she can't fix it. I keep a stoic face because I cannot let my guard down in front of him as it will worry him. So my seester and I act all cheery and say see you later cos we never say anything else. And bam, just like that it is over and everything returns to the way it always is and it is ok-ish.

We purposely booked the last flight out for the day but little did I know my head would be imploding and little did I know we would be delayed. so there we say and sat and sat.

This is why people don't wan't to go to England. Bullshit. this is the only rain I saw. 

I love rain.

And just like that....well almost just like that, we were on the other side of the Atlantic looking backe and feeling homesick.
and I have a self imposed rule..........I don't give a damn what time you get home from a trip you UNPACK right then and you start the washing. yes well. The head. This is what I woke up to the next morning. Oh dear god. Really I did. The horror of it all.

So I did what all little seesters do, I called the big seester and said HELP

There is even a bottle of water there on the floor just flung. I must have lost my mind.

randomness

For as long as I can remember the girls have loved playing down the rec on the zip wire and that hasn't changed. Even the 14yr old who says she doesn't care any more if she rides on it or not cannot contain herself once she gets there.
 The only other requirement for a good time on it, are Crazy Auntie Sally and Mad Uncle Andy.

pure joy

Mad Uncle Andy pushes hard

funny, silly, moody, challenging. oh so help me teenager

he gives his all....she's only 50lbs

she's all shook up 

this sign....really?

they are fixing my beautiful place. they better not mess it up!

Onwards to more randomness My brother isn't the only one who has a lovely garden. Daddy and Jeanne do to.

gorgeous colour

hello chicky

grow it, eat it

must have been windy. it worked last time 

A complete rainbow. It must be because of the river or maybe, in the words of Rosie, it's because it's Nanny and Grandpas house. LOL

whatever it is it's pretty magical

Rummikub is a serious matter

As you have noticed the Daddio is always wearing a hat, he has always worn a hat. One of his grand children calls him Grandad hat. He was still asleep one morning and his hat was on the back of a chair..............

hmmm, wear have his salmon fishes gone???

I never noticed all the colours in it

I can't remember whose bedroom this one was growing up ( my father grew up in this house)...but apparently they needed to be locked in....well bwa ha ha. It was probably his.

And just like that it was done.

time stands still for no man....or daughter

It never fails but when I am at home time speeds up. Not sure how but it does. I live every second and I love every second. Being in the house that I spent so much time in as a child just makes every thing in life better. Wandering about aimlessly without a care in the world is fabulous.

As you know my Daddio is extremely talented, he can just about make anything and can fix whatever I broke   most things. I have inherited some of his natural talent but I have a long way to go. His workshop is heaven on earth to me. I could spend days inside just opening drawers. looking inside tins. marvelling at the fact that he owns every single tool I have ever heard of, from some that are very very old to the most modern table saw there is cos Jeanne worries about him, a lot. He is a little obsessive and everything is organised in just a way so that he knows where it is. Everything is in a jar, tin, or drawer. Old pieces of furniture house larger objects, ledges covered in years of cobwebs hold glass bottles, all containing the same thing. There are many of the same thing, many.

When I grow up I want a work shop just like this.

Be still my heart.
<3

he never calls it a shed, it's not a shed, it's a workshop.

beyond that little green gate is where the magic happens. the gate is the divider in the garden. I don't know why it is divided, it just is.

hah, I had to sneak in a photo of the myth, the man, the legend himself. The daddio

this is a heart I took with me, I wanted to put barbed wire around it, I knew daddy would have some, he didn't so he MADE some. I kid you not. 

enter with me at your own risk

Oh I can smell it......

see all those tins, I have the same affliction. I save them too for little screws and knickknackerreea. all this crap is hidden away behind closed doors. hand built closed doors.

across a paint dripped work bench. this one is kept clear, others not so much.

a drawer full of files...only files

shoes, in the work shop? all brown, all polished.

another drawer containing many of the exact same tool

many necessary items

don't want to run out....EVER

thems some classy looking cobwebs.

I love every inch of this space.

every single inch. every single smell. every single saw dusty bit. 

I need to feel this

saws. a plethora of them. one for every occasion. daddio was sad he couldn't share but TSA just doesn't share our love of tools

If I ever get stuck with a project I pick up the phone and say Daddy.....and he says .....

I want this deep within my soul

this is what he shared this time. He knows why. And guess what I have used the file already. I did.  He gave me one, then 2 minutes later took it back and gave me that one.  And yesterday I needed it...an accident with the garbage disposal.

my heart, stained with a stain I made out of steel wool and vinegar.

I don't want to wish my life away but when I get to move...heehaw. You'll find me in the barn