Marblelous

Youngest off to a friends house which I successfully navigated to without the aid of a Sat Nav, impressed with myself as we haven't been there before and it is one of youngest's Gym friends so the radius of parent taxi expectation runs to at least 30 miles in any direction from our house. A bit like the school catchment area. When we lived in South London everyone who went to the school lived within a mile and a half, so walking distance. We took the decision to move down to the beautiful County of Somerset (and it is beautiful) but our travel here has at least quadrupled as everything and everyone is always a trek away ... There was the shock of no street lights when we first started to find places and people and the occasional child who needed to be picked up from a school friends house, it was all ok as long as it was daylight hours. The girls quickly learnt that this place does not look the same in the dark, because it really really IS dark. Just because Mum had been there before during the day didn't necessarily mean a straightforward assumption of on time arrival for pick up if we'd lost daylight. Oh and the times where you volunteer to do the drop offs !!!! Grief I had forgotten all of that ... little ones that couldn't navigate home in the dark very well either.

Now where was I? Oh yes dropped off one, still had 2 for the day (tuther one still under the weather so not enjoying the half term at all, although Madacascar 3 arrived from a well known postal film hire company so that cheered her up) So we did a bit of Charity shop shopping to stock up on a few or three books. Bargain day. I managed to find some beautiful patchwork books, Eldest happy with her reading books to keep her reading for a few weeks, top middle one even managed a few for her A level Textile project, and we didn't forget hubby and 'er left indoors, as they are all bookworms.

The best bit about the books is that we will take them back when they have had the attention they deserve from us and then someone else can donate some much needed funds when they buy them and they get enjoyed all over again.

Obviously my blip today has absolutely nothing to do with charity books or getting lost in the dark. I am trying to encourage my eldest who paints incredibly well (and as any of my girls know that comment is not just made because they are my girls) to paint another marble picture. I have one hanging in my study and love it. She painted it from one of my photo references, so I thought maybe if I take a few more she might just take the hint. Although I do appreciate she is painting a portrait of her youngest sister and that may well take some time as she works as well. But I can try !!