Wandering aimlessly in airy fairy land

I can't believe it's almost a fortnight since I posted.

Everything is fine here - the two girls have taken new educational establishments pretty much in their stride and Nick just bumbles along enjoying any challenges the teachers may throw at him

Work for me is (so far) better than the summer term - it couldn't have been worse! Still keeping an eye open for something else but not worrying too much - however I do feel I'm sort of running on only three of the four cylinders at the moment, kind of like wandering in a fog. The most surprising thing is that it doesn't seem to be bothering me which is not normal for me. Maybe eventually something important I've missed will come along and bite me on the bum :o) and shock me back into my usual buzzing state.

Work for Nigel is a much less manic so he's less stressed - maybe that's contributing to this air of apathy.

I suppose things have been happening in the Bebbington household over the past couple of weeks.

Hurray!!! - we now have a completed front drive! After almost two years the job is completed - the black tarmac area is the job completed - ehat a relief after the building site it has been - ignore the borders they need a jolly good sort out. Now his Lordship has started to dig up the back lawn in readiness for my paved Italianate piazza style garden-to-be :o)

Sarah is back into her rugby, ever the clown in the front row - this means it must be autumn despite the glorious sunshine for Sunday's match - I can't say I've ever actually seen Cullompton without a howling gale and torrential rain before :o)

Plus I've managed a little stitching - the September birthday block was to be a house in warm coloured batiks - it went off in the post today.

Sadly our next door neighbours' cat passed away last weekend - we were all upset but Louise was heartbroken. We'd really got used to his little 'respite from the toddlers' visits - unfortunately Nigel is still shouting a big NO!!! on getting a cat ourselves and I do feel it has to be a unanimous yes vote so we won't be getting one in a hurry much to Louise's disgust.

So here at Chez Bebbs we bumble along and as long as nothing gets overlooked I'm quite enjoying wandering aimlessly in this waffly state

It can't possibly last!

Boy is it quiet here today

Well today's the day they're finally all back at school or college

Nick and Lou walked off together this morning - the big brother escorting his little sister on her first day at his school - no bickering either - long may it last! They did laugh at posing for this somewhat staged picture

Sarah of course, having left secondary school, has been making her own way in the grown up world of 6th Form College since Monday.

We did have a minor glitch on Monday - she went in all hyped up to start the hard work of AS levels and was allowed home at lunchtime as there was only one lesson timetabled for her because of tutor meetings, assemblies etc - a bit of an anti-climax compounded by the fact that she managed to lose her timetable from her back jeans pocket between college and meeting me in the centre of town - oh dear! Floods of tears, major panic and a quick drive back to college for her to log onto the intranet and copy it down again to rectify this - problems are seldom insurmountable.

The week has got better - she loves PE; Geography and Biology will be fine and Chemistry is going to be jolly hard work but definitely doable. The thing she's finding the most strange is calling all her lecturers by their first names.

She's made lots of new friends, signed up for any sport imaginable that fits in with her timetable and generally had a ball so far.

You can see from this picture of all three of them before they set off this morning that they're all raring to go - long may it continue.

For the first time ever going right back to when Sarah started in Reception class all those years ago this long anticipated day of peace for me feels unexpectedly very odd - I seem to be rattling round a bit like a pea in a drum. Partly I think because I can't seem to concentrate on anything meaty on the stitching front and I really do not want to go and clear out the fridge which is really the most pressing job on the household list - closely followed by tidying my sewing area as the worksurfaces are fast becoming a distant memory!

I shan't have time to think about all this tomorrow as the men arrive first thing in the morning to complete the front drive - hurray!

I have managed a little crafty stuff

I quilted and finished off this little wallhanging I started ages ago and sent it off to a friend in need of a lift

And at Lou's insistence, because she found the beautifully soft alpaca/silk yarn in a bargain bin a few weeks ago, I've been crocheting a scarf for her.

I completed the ends with crocheted scallops instead of fringing as it took up much less wool - nice and brainless in front of the television - I'd forgotten quite how relaxing crocheting can be.