Just goes to show - you should always stick to the original plan!

Things I have learned today:

• The M55 takes you right to the Central carpark in Blackpool - no need to go down the A6 and try to figure out your way through the town centre! How old am I? How many times have I been to Blackpool? Why has it take me until now to realise this simple fact?
• The Sealife Centre is extortionate - especially for such a small place.
• The Sealife Centre is extortionate - it's such an important point that I needed to say it twice.
• The Sealife Centre makes mums sweaty.
• The Sealife Centre makes children hyper.
• Never put off plans to do something outside just because it's raining - it will invariably brighten up when you decide to do an indoor thing!
• The sharks at the Sealife Centre are worth the sweatiness of the mums and the hyperactivity of the children :) We loved the sharks.

We did have a nice day, don't get me wrong. The boys behaved beautifully in the Sealife Centre at Blackpool, and they loved seeing all the fish, and particularly the sharks. We just sat down on the treasure chest and watched the sharks circling above us for ages - they're very beautiful (although Thomas was not as impressed as the rest of us, because these sharks weren't big enough for him). But cor bloody blimey, I don't like paying more than £10 per child for somewhere that only takes an hour to get round. It's incredibly overpriced. It's a shame, and I know that places like this cost a lot to run, because the animals need looking after, and there are conservation projects and stuff going on. But the zoo at Dalton is about the same price, and it's much, much bigger and is a place that you can spend all day in, and you can see lions and tigers feed, and you can handfeed penguins!

The real trouble is that I completely spoiled the boys in the Sealife Centre shop, and now I can't afford to take them to the zoo! I didn't tell them that I might take them to the zoo though, so at least I don't have to break a promise :) And they're very happy being little pirates with their new swords and wee pirate hats! No, honestly, it was a lovely day - I just always feel guilty when I've spent a fortune like that, and it skews my view of the day.

Now, what can we do tomorrow that won't cost anything at all? Ugh, I really don't know, if it's raining. Might have to be a visiting grandparents day if it rains again. I know that I said that I love the rain, and I do, but I do hope it'll bugger off soon, because I'd like to do some of the things that we used to do in the summer like taking a picnic to Lancaster Castle, and going for walks by the river or the canal - things that we don't need the car for, things that we can do every single day without spending any money at all. Playing at home is great, but it's better when it can be in the garden.

Come on sunshine, show us your smile!

What a lovely day

It's rather ironic that the hosepipe ban in the North-West of England has come into proper effect now that it is raining during the day. When I heard the rain on the windows this morning when I woke up, I was a little dismayed because I'd been hoping that we'd get a little more sunshineyness soon. I don't like it too hot and sticky (at this I imagine my friends in America scoffing derisively, and saying to each other things like 'man, she doesn't even know what hot is'! I know this. But I am an average person, who enjoys average things, such as average temperatures, and average weather. Mmm.)

But I went out into town this morning - on an errand for my dad; doing errands in town for other people always give me a good excuse to go to Starbucks (you're welcome for the free advertising Starbucks) for a couple of hours, and then just nip in to Waterstone's (Waterstone's, you are also welcome: any time) to perhaps buy a book; it's not really my fault that I have so many books, it's the fault of the people who send me into town. I was wandering around, eating my chicken and shish kebab wrap, and the light rain was swirling up around me and making me think that I would probably need to put more wax on my hair when I got home. I heard myself having grumpy thoughts about needing an umbrella, and wishing for the sun to come out, when I suddenly realised that I was lying to myself. I slowed down my pace, and had a look about the street I was walking down, and noticed that it is actually a really lovely day today. It's warm out, it's not chucking it down, the drizzle is really very pleasant indeed, and I right fancy going out for a longer walk this afternoon. That may well not happen since James and Matthew usually come out of nursery stumbling over their own feet and looking all bleary-eyed after a hard morning of playing. But maybe I can persuade them with a promise of puddle splashing with wellies on.

It was nice to wander about, rainy or not, with nothing much to think about. My brain's a bit mashed at the moment, because I seem to have a lot of things to organise all of a sudden: a Stag Do for Noomski, a birthday party for Thomas, a new cooker for us, a wedding trip to pay for and a holiday to confirm, and I have several bits of admin and letters to get done. It's very strange that life can be quiet for a time, with nothing pressing on the horizon, and then all of a sudden there's a glut of urgent things to do. I always feel like shutting down and waiting for deadlines to pass me by. I think this stay-at-home lark has made me very lazy, because all I want to do now is read and write and be left alone most of the time!!! That's not true actually - I'm very much enjoying spending time with friends at the moment (but that's because being with friends is something that's easy to do and allows me to be more lazy with cups of tea and biscuits!) Anything that takes me away from my book, my computer or my pen and paper makes me grumpy. This does not include my children. That's a relief. I'm being patient with my children - although I am looking at them as if they might be potential characters in my next book. Oh dear.

Waffley, waffley post! Sorry. This post reflects the ramblingness of my thoughts today. Up and down and all over the place. Probably need an early night.

Erm...

Bye!

Does it really matter?

So we've had an election, and it's still going on, and we're all very excited, and I've been watching it avidly, and will continue to watch for as long as it takes for things to be resolved - which may be many months! Hmm. But apart from people who are actually genuinely interested in politics to the extent that they keep up to date with the broadsheets daily, and apart from politicians themselves, are the rest of us really that bothered what happens in a general election? Does it have such an impact on our lives that the possibility of a new government should have us seriously worried about how poor we're all suddenly going to become, or make us thoroughly overjoyed because things are suddenly going to get better for everyone and we'll all finally be very happy? In other words, does politics really matter? Do politicians ever really make a difference? Or is it possible, gasp, that we can in fact get on with our lives without having anything to do with the whole silly business?

To be perfectly honest with you, I've been watching it mostly for the entertainment factor. When the results came in I was glued to the news all day, because it was riveting. I had ummed and ahhed for a long time about who I was going to vote for, yes. I was mostly trying to decide who would help my grandparents to be more comfortable, and who would make schools better. But I went completely with my heart in the end - I voted for the Green party, and then I joined said party :) I knew when I placed my crosses in the boxes that neither of the Green candidates had a hope of being elected, but I knew that for me it was the right thing to do. And I was pleased and proud of myself, for not being swayed by anyone in my decision. We're all different, aren't we, and we all vote for different reasons? To me, my vote isn't about trying to get someone into office who will change my life - because that's an unrealistic expectation. Politics doesn't change our lives - we do. Politics might alter the amount of money we have, but it's still up to us what we do with it. So my vote is about who I am, and it's about what I believe in, and what I think is important (as I'm sure it is for everyone who doesn't vote tactically, of course!)

So, politics was soon forgotten about on Saturday, when we went to look at a beautiful house that we thought we might like to buy. We didn't even think about Mssrs Cameron, Brown and Clegg when we went to the fairground in the afternoon. And not a political thought flitted across our brains when we went for a long and leisurely walk in the countryside on Sunday. A very productive and fun-filled, politics-free weekend.

The house that we looked at was excellent. We cannot put an offer in though, because when we looked at it we realised what a state our own is! Purely cosmetic, but since first impressions matter enormously when selling a house, we need to sort it out. So we have plans to get it in a fit enough state to put on the market. We're going to have a few weeks of tidying and titivating, and then we'll give it a try - perhaps! Kev keeps having doubts - very valid doubts. He wonders whether we should stay where we are for another couple of years, at least until I'm bringing in some money. But we'll tidy the house up anyway, while we're still deciding - nothing wrong with a tidy house, whether you're selling it or not. It all just needs a good paint and a clean, lots of elbow-grease (whatever that actually is!) and love. And you never know, when it's looking beautiful again, we might actually decide to keep it. Oh, but I would love to buy the house we saw this weekend - it was ideal. Very big, lots of rooms, beautiful garden, nice location. Hmmmmm.

At the fairground we had a great time. I've never really been to the fairground at the park before, though it's been there every summer for decades. I guess it was because we were always too poor to be able to go on rides! The boys went on a few things, and we all went on the wee rollercoaster (Thomas hated it and felt sick). I went on the 'big' wheel with Kev's mum Jackie. It was quite lurchy! But fun :) Jackie clamped her hand on my arm and I think she was quite terrified at first, but she settled down after a couple of revolutions. I was a little disappointed that no-one would go on the ghost train with me, but I think James would have had nightmares for a few weeks if I'd dragged him on it. Maybe next year :) The boys were delighted with their prizes from the Hook-a-Duck stall - they all chose a very excellent archery set, which I have to say I'm most impressed with: not at all the usual tat you might expect to win at a fair. The boys were firing their arrows at shiny surfaces at every opportunity yesterday, and now the telly, a few pictures on the walls and some windows have nice squelchy marks on them from where the suckers stuck. Mmmm, that's nice.

Yesterday, Sunday, we went to the Crook o' Lune again. We decided to take the walk at a more leisurely pace this time - though we still didn't get to be as leisurely as we'd have liked, because we had Noomski and Jessica with us, and they seemed to get a little bored if we stayed still to watch birds or cows or anything for too long! I think they found our ways rather amusing, and were laughing every time I took my camera out to film some jumping fish, or some swooping herons. Noomski asked what had happened to me, and said that I used to be cool, but am not cool any longer because I know the names of some birds and about the habits of a little bit of wildlife! It's nice to be entertaining :D And it was nice having them along with us though, as they were good company, and it was more fun with a bigger party. I hope they will walk with us again - though I'm not sure they will, because they were very tired afterwards, and seemed to be lacking a bit of stamina!!! (I wonder if they will read this, *wicked laugh*.)

So, it's back to work on the book today. I've neglected it for a few days, and am rather behind schedule now, so I have some catching up to do. I needed to blog though - I have written four posts about the election over the last few days, and have deleted them all because they were too ... political (for 'political' read 'dull'!)

Oh, apologies for the lack of photos of the weekend. I haven't got them on my computer yet, because they're on Kev's new camera, and I can't spare the time to download them just now. I will post some this evening - a separate photographic entry for you.

And oh, I caught myself moaning about the weather this morning, and then remembered that I had posted about enjoying the rain and cold, on account of it reminding a person that they are alive - so I gave myself a telling off and then pulled my hood down and let the rain get in my hair! Ooh, what a rebel!

Summer rain.

So, what do you think of rain? I really love it. But sometimes I do forget that I love it, and I should remind myself more. I'm thinking of rain at the moment because earlier in the week the weather was kind of glorious for the first time in a long time, but there was one day - can't remember which one - when it felt like there was some pretty low pressure around and that we might get a thunder storm. Now that, I love! I do absolutely wish for thunder storms. I have a memory, that I'm not sure is real and might in actual fact be a memory of a dream, of Noomski and me running across the park with our grandma. It started to hammer it down, and then the thunder started. I was absolutely terrified, but extremely excited at the same time. It was truly awesome. When the rain batters down and soaks you to the skin within seconds, and the wind whips around you and makes your hair stick to your face, and you become so wet that you might as well stop running to get home and just stay out and enjoy the storm, is one of the times when I feel most especially alive.

But we don't get storms much here, do we? I think it's a shame. I don't want anyone to be flooded or anything, but just a good blast of thunder and lightning, and some torrents of rain for ten minutes would be lovely. Last summer I watched the most amazing rain from my dining room. The drops were HUGE, great big pearls of fresh and cold water. I had the patio door open, and although it only rained for about five minutes before the sun came back out, the floor by the door was drenched. I was busy when it rained that time, making tea or something. But a few weeks before it happened I had said to Kev that next time we got a rain storm like that I wanted to go out for a prance about in it. Well, I missed that one, and thought that I might have to wait another year for the next one. But lo! We were treated to another a few weeks later, and even though I was making tea again, I abandoned it and legged it out the back door and had a good dance about in the pouring rain. It was glorious. Thomas and James couldn't resist joining me, and we ran about the garden like crazy people, whooping and laughing. It was just delicious. I did fancy stripping off and doing it properly, but I thought I saw a few curtains twitching so didn't try it! Maybe if we get a storm when it's dark ;)

I'm always a bit disappointed when we pick Thomas up from school and the rain stops! I'm not much of a fan of walking to school and back in the pouring rain, it gets perishing cold, especially for Matthew in the pram. But I do like when we drive to school and it starts to rain heavily as we get there. Sometimes it stops just long enough for us to collect Thomas, but sometimes it starts just as he comes out of school, and we all run back to the car screaming with laughter. It's so funny, I love it. There's something so refreshing about driving home with wet clothes and hair and getting the towels and dry clothes out as soon as we get back. It's all about being alive, and just being so blinkin' happy to be here :) And when the kids go straight into school in the morning because it's pouring I always saunter back across the playground with a big Monday-morning grin on my face, and the other parents must think I'm a right nutter, he he! I just wish I was brave enough to splash in the puddles like James and Matthew.

I have no pictures of rain. Hmmm. What can I show you today? I've only got snow pictures, but that's not right. Oh, I might have one or two from a couple of summers ago - hang on. I'll be right back.

No, the internet is not playing today, and photos are taking a ridiculously long time to upload - so, for the first time, no photos in my post!!! I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I'll post a few tomorrow :)

Night all.