All I Want for Christmas Is ................

Now that shopping and all the preparations for Christmas are in full swing I find myself thinking longingly of the days when I the children were little and shopping was so much easier. Back then money was still tight but almost everything wanted could be bought in one visit to Toys r Us, and when they woke up on Christmas morning their stockings were bulging. Now if their wish lists involve more effort in terms of shopping, have a bigger price tag and when the presents are wrapped and tucked under the tree they don't look very impressive, they certainly wouldn't fill a stocking! 

I still have younger children to buy for, three nephews and a niece and I have to admit that shopping for them has been the most enjoyable part of Christmas for me. My niece is 10, very grown up and very interested in fashion, so the main part of her present had a fashion design theme. She also loves reading, so I decided to buy her two books that I loved when I was young. It was hard to choose just two books, but it was very enjoyable to remember so many of the books that I enjoyed as a child. In the end I chose Charlotte Sometimes and Tom's Midnight Garden, both books had a similar theme, the connection between the past and the present. I hope she will enjoy them as much as I did.


My three year old nephew will be getting books as part of his present too. I bought him a set of Richard Scarry books and when Robbie saw them I thought he was going to burst with excitement. Apparently 'Cars, Trucks and Things That Go' was Robbie's favourite book when he was little, so I am sure he will enjoy reading the books with Oliver. The other part of his present also caused Robbie to reminisce, I bought him a Tonka truck. According to Robbie they were much better in the old days, but when he thought I wasn't looking I caught him admiring the new truck which makes realistic engine noises and has a special tool to change the tyres. 


I also caught my son looking longingly at my 5 year old nephew's present. I had chosen Transformers for him because he is car mad and I remembered how much my son liked Transformers. My son commented that it made him feel like adding a transformer toy to his own Christmas list - I wish he would, it would be a lot cheaper and less complicated than some of the things he wants!


It seems to me that part of the pleasure of Christmas comes from remembering the things and the people that made past Christmases special. I wonder what we will remember when we look back on this Christmas?

Down the Stairs with a Bump

Why does the weekend go so quickly when the week seems to drag on forever? Robbie and I planned to go shopping in Birmingham on Saturday but when it came to it neither of us had the strength to tackle Birmingham on a Saturday. Our week days are long and challenging and at the weekend it is nice to take things slowly and relax. 


We had a nice lazy day we enjoyed a meal together and got some shopping done, but we didn't tackle any Christmas shopping. We really need to get organised because time is marching on. I really enjoy having young nephews to buy for, but as our own children have got older it is harder and more expensive to buy for them. Even my (almost) 11 year old niece seems frighteningly grown up all of a sudden - I must be getting old!

On Sunday evening I decided that in the coming week I would get organised, I made lists and planned to start my Christmas shopping on Monday. That was before my week started with a bump. Robbie was getting ready to leave the house and I came down the stairs dressed and ready to go, but somehow my foot slipped and the next thing I knew I was at the bottom of the stairs in a crumpled heap. There was nothing broken (not even the mug that I was carrying) but everything hurt and now I have bruises in places that I didn't know I had and it felt as if I was walking like Spotty Dog from the Woodentops! So the Christmas shopping is on hold for a day or two because it is hard enough just to deal with the essentials at the moment.

A room without books is like a body without a soul - Cicero

I had such a good time on Saturday. For me it was a Robbie free day because he was out playing trains - nothing new there! A couple of months ago my friend took me to visit the most amazing place, it is called Astley Book Farm and it is the largest second hand book shop in the Midlands. I loved it and I promised myself that I would go back when I had plenty of time to brose. I told my daughter Emily about it and she wanted to go as well, so we planned our trip for Saturday. To say that Emily shares my love of books would be an understatement, I have never seen anyone so excited about visiting a bookshop! 


It was a nice morning and we had a nice drive to the book farm, we got there fairly early so that we had plenty of time to explore every section of the shop. It is an amazing place, just when you think you have got to the end of the shop you find a doorway or turning opening on to another section. Emily soon found the English language section and she was in her element, crouched on the floor looking at every book that took her fancy. I wandered off and soon I had found two or three books that would make perfect Christmas presents. I was having a great time and I felt virtuous too, it is only September and I have started my Christmas shopping! 

Emily was still sitting on the floor reading text books when I wandered past ten minutes later. She excitedly offered me a book, it was a dictionary of vulgarity in 
old English, that girl is passionate about language. I left her surrounded by a pile of books and headed up to the children's section in the hayloft. Who needs anti wrinkle cream when you can visit a place like this. Soon I was sitting on the floor rediscovering treasures from my childhood including Sam Pig, My Naughty Little Sister and many more. Emily came up to join me and we rekindled memories from her childhood too. 


Considerably later I made my way down from the hayloft and headed for the transport section clutching the pile of books that I intended to buy. There was a whole section on railway books so I happily whiled away another half an hour looking at some amazing books. I selected a book about the railway companies pre nationalisation, it is a lovely book and it was very reasonably priced.


By then my friend had arrived so we paid for our books and put them in the car before going to the coffee shop for a cup of tea and a natter. Afterwards we had a last look around and we bought a couple more things before going back to my friend's house for a while. I really enjoyed the whole day, it is nice to spend some quality time with my daughter, and I always enjoy spending time with my friend. The added enjoyment of the bookshop turned it into a perfect day. I must take time to do more things like this.

Trouble Afoot

I can't put it off any longer, I have to give serious consideration to buying Christmas presents. The girls are sorted now and most of the presents for the wider family have been bought, my main problems are Robbie and Sam. I made a big mistake in planning, Sam's birthday is on 20th December so that adds to my present buying problems, I have a few ideas but I am still not sure what he would like. Robbie knows exactly what he wants, but the thought terrifies me - he wants red tartan Dr Marten boots. What a vision, he would look like an ageing Bay City Roller! When I made it clear that there is no way that I am going to buy them, he suggested an alternative, Dr Martens with Union Jack toe caps - no way!! Why can't he just be normal?

Is It Raining Men?

Friday went past in a blur of activity, dealing with all those last minute jobs that have to be done before going on holiday. The day began with me chasing Robbie upstairs, he had been promising to go up to the loft to fetch some of my talking books for weeks and he had finally run out of excuses. Once he was safely in the loft I moved his ladder, to make sure he didn't escape until I was satisfied that all the jobs in the loft. There was a lot of thumping and clattering, it sounded as if he would fall through the ceiling at any minute, but just for once my worst fears were not realised. He emerged triumphantly bearing a box full of talking books that for the last few weeks he had insisted were not there, and he insisted that he had to have a shower before he did anything else. Unfortunately I had just run the bath for the dog and since Robbie was already dirty and semi naked (as usual) he was the ideal person to bath he dog! She wasn't overjoyed about the experience, but she behaved very well until I was safely out of range, then she shook herself vigorously and covered Robbie and the bathroom with water. Finally a rather damp and dejected, but clean dog and a clean and adequately dressed husband emerged to face the world and we were ready to go out and tackle the long list of errands that needed our attention.

We had already bought a whole trolley full of 'essentials' for the pets at the pet superstore, and we were heading to the garage to check the tyre pressure before braving the supermarket. Robbie had been getting increasingly annoyed with himself and he was ready to fall out with his own shadow. I knew what the problem was, he was in pain and struggling to walk, but there was nothing I could do to help. He sat in the car and used some of the more obscure and descriptive words in his vocabulary to tell his right leg exactly how he felt about it. Of course the leg took no notice, and Robbie grew increasingly angry with himself. In the end I had to get cross with him and remind him that many people with spina bifida would think he was lucky to be mobile and have fairly normal function. It sounds hard hearted, but I love him, I can't change the way things are, but I can do my best to keep him motivated and help him to keep a sense of perspective. He has to go back to the doctor to get his pain relief sorted out, but as usual I will have to drag him there!

We got everything done in the end, but by the time went to bed we were shattered and we had to make an early start on Saturday morning.

The Shopping Trolley.

It was an exhausting day for me yesterday. I took my mum Christmas shopping in town, it was quite an experience because my mum loves to shop - and I don't! We spent so long in some shops that I thought I would die of old age before she had chosen what she wanted! It is quite hard to walk slowly enough for her (she has bad feet) and I had to swallow my pride in order to pull her trolley for her, it was OK because I didn't see anyone I knew! I was thankful that I wasn't carrying her shopping, she bought so much she was a one woman antidote to the poor trading figures! I was tired when I got back from the shopping trip, but I before long I had to go to work, so rest seemed like a distant prospect. I was exhausted when I got home and I looked forward to sitting down with a nice cup of tea and something relaxing on tv, but Robbie had other ideas, he was watching a documentary about the evolution of supermarkets so when I sat down I was treated to an excruciatingly detailed account of the history and design of the shopping trolley. It cured my tiredness, I no longer felt tired, I felt murderous!

Mission Impossible (Shopping with Robbie)

Robbie and I went shopping at Toys R Us on Friday evening. Robbie came straight from work so he was still dressed in his suit, bit as soon as he walked through the door his 'inner child' took over and he was almost bursting with enthusiasm. I wanted to look for Christmas presents for my niece and nephews, Oliver is only 6 months old and Jack likes cars and diggers more than trains so despite Robbie pleading with me there was nobody to buy trains for. It didn't stop him trying, first we went to look at the brio and all the wooden Thomas series engines, he really wanted to buy one. Then we went to look at the die-cast Thomas models, I remember when Sam used to collect those, I think we still have them packed away somewhere. Robbie was rather taken with a carry case in the shape of Thomas that could store a selection of trains inside. I finally enticed him away from that section, but my problems had only just begun because he made a dash for the Hornby section. He described every single item in detail and I thought we would still be there at closing time. Thankfully Emily met us and we finally dragged him away to concentrate on the Christmas shopping. We bought Oliver's present, but we also bought a rather nice wooden train set for when he is old enough – guess whose idea that was!

I hate going to town especially on a Saturday, but Robbie pestered me until I gave in, so we spent this afternoon trailing around the shops in Northampton with Sam. When we finally sat down to have a drink and a snack Robbie told me that a parcel should be delivered on Monday. He had that guilty smile and it was clear he didn't want me to ask any questions. It is my birthday soon so I thought it may be something for me but clearly he had other things on his mind he finally revealed that he has bought a lump of deltic (to add to all his other junk) and I have to alter my whole routine on Monday to wait in for it to be delivered!

Flying Horses 27.11.07

Monday mornings are bad enough at the best of times, but when I saw the state of my car yesterday I almost gave up and went back to bed. Either we have flying horses in Northampton or the car had been targeted by a very poorly bird! I get all the good jobs!

I have been busy with the last bits of my Christmas shopping and the never ending job of wrapping everything up. I always try my best to buy presents that people will appreciate, but some people are so difficult to buy for. My ears pricked up on Sunday morning when the Food Programme on Radio 4 was reviewing books for Christmas. I love books of all kinds, but I am not particularly interested in food writing so I was really listening to find gift suggestions for other people. They read an extract from Nigel Slater's new book Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the English at Table. The extract was about the pink wafer biscuit and it posed the question who could possibly choose of that as their favourite. It described the pink wafer as the Tim Henman of the biscuit world. I love Nigel Slater's style of writing and it sounds like the sort of book that Robbie would enjoy, but I he is incredibly easy to buy for so I have already bought a present for hm. As for the pink wafer biscuit children love them because they are sweet with the added challenge of layers which they can ease apart with their teeth. I have spent almost all of my adult life working with homeless and disadvantaged adults and I have come across another group of people who enjoy pink wafer biscuits - people with no teeth! It brought to mind a cantankerous old chap who I worked with years ago, he lived almost exclusively on tuna, strong tea and pink wafer biscuits! I wouldn't recommend the diet, but I did develop a bit of a soft spot for the chap - he was impossible to work with, but he always made me smile.