Five...

Treasures Found

I looked after the daughter of a friend on Tuesday and the children all decided to put on a fashion show. The only slight problem was that they asked if I would video it.

Yes, we do have a camcorder but the problems arose because firstly, I had no idea where it was, secondly, it would definitely have a flat battery and thirdly, did we have any mini-tapes for it?

The problems were all solved very quickly when firstly, I found it within 2 minutes of looking for it, secondly, yes, it was flat but I also found the mains charger within 1 minute of looking for it and thirdly, it had a tape stored next to it, one stored inside it and, whilst looking for the thing itself, I found a brand new unopened mini-tape somewhere else. We were set and ready to go.

The next hurdle I hit was trying to get the video from the handycam (very old now, well, in terms of ne technology) on to my Mac. After much trying I gave up on the Mac, installed the software for the handycam (which I also found - wonders will never cease!) and started to upload it to the old pc. But then, guess what? I found yet another cable and this one was the usb dv cable and lo and behold I connected one end to the handycam, the other to my Mac and voila! Instant movies.

After I had sorted out 'The Fashion Show' I turned my attention to the two other opened and looking used tapes. And I found a veritable treasure chest of memories from the early half of 2005. Wow! How my children have grown. Obviously I do know they are growing but they do it so slowly in front of you. These videos were in your face 'look how much I've changed, mum!'. We were living in Nova Scotia at that time and the videos were such a fab reminder of some of the great times we had. The snow, which I loved, the children quickly developing canadian accents, our home, such a fantastic house.

We've watched these videos over and over since, wallowing in the beauty of their littleness. Especially Noah. Noah was not quite 2 years old when we moved over and the cuteness (and tantrum) factor is off the scale. Here's one little clip I'll share with you:

Recipe: Homemade Lemonade

You will need:

• 6 lemons
• 200g sugar
• 2 1/2 pints of boiling water

Pare the outer zest from the six lemons and place in a large bowl (large enough to hold 2 1/2 pints of water!). Next squeeze all the juice out of the lemons and add to the zest, don't worry about pips and stuff at this point. Finally add the sugar and then the boiling water. Mix well until all the sugar has dissolved and then cover bowl with a tea towel and leave someplace cool overnight. Put the liquid through a rough sieve, to filter out the zest and the pips but still allow some of the 'fleshy bits' to go through. Voila! Tasty, yummy, full of vitamins, homemade lemonade. Great served with ice on a hot summers day (although probably not today as it is tipping down with rain!).

You can add more or less sugar according to taste, only remember if you try it when it is still hot it will taste quite sweet but by the time it is cool and ready to strain it will be nowhere near as sweet as when it was hot - if you kwim? I've experimented a little and find 200g of sugar, in the words of Goldilocks, to be just right! Not too sour to give you a pucker face, but not too sweet either, just a little bit of a zesty twang.

Oh, and for pink lemonade? Add a splash or two of pomegranate or cranberry or something red juice. Alternatively whizz it up with a few fresh strawberries.

I Am A Domestic Goddess

OK, so that may be pushing things a little too far but hey, I can have my little fantasies, can't I?

Anyway, I'm lately I've been feeling like I've just stepped out of an Enid Blyton book - I've been making lashings and lashings of homemade lemonade:

{click for larger image and just look at that cool bottle}

The children are drinking it as fast as I can make it. In fact earlier this week I made a double batch, 5 pints, yes, that's 5 whole pints, and they drank it - all within an hour (maybe less!).

I'm not complaining though. They get a healthy dose of vitamin C and I get to feel like a traditional mum, providing 'old fashioned' homemade treats for her brood and feeling not a little smug!

6 Years Ago Today

God gave us this:

I can't believe that my baby is now 6 years old! We took him and 4 friends to see Wall E at the cinema and to PizzaHut afterwards. His verdict? "It was the best day of my life!"

Yesterday

The funeral for my brother was held yesterday. It went as well as can be expected but was a very difficult day for us all. The last 2 weeks have been very difficult with a lot of questions, 'what-ifs' and replaying of scenarios going around and around in my mind.

For some things I will probably never have any answers. I will never know exactly what events contributed to him finally feeling he had no other option but to take his own life. I will never know whether if I had called him more often it would have made a difference. He was troubled, he never really did come to terms with my dad's death, he did make choices in his life that weren't good for him. This was so final though.

It does seem that some weeks prior he had taken steps to try to turn his life around. He did make an appointment with a doctor. Said he needed help. Said he needed counselling. Said he wanted to stop the drugs. But the system failed him. 12 weeks later he had still heard nothing. Would it have made a difference? I'd like to think so. I know that I didn't see him as often as I should. But I miss him, miss knowing that he was there, however much in the background. I wish I had one more chance to hug him. To tell him that I love him no matter what.

I remember the cheeky little boy he was (I was 5 and a half when he was born). The accident prone little monkey, always up to something, who insisted that his full name was Matthew Mortlock Brett, not accepting the Brett should be in the middle. The boy who when his mates would use bad language in front of me would tell them off for doing so. The man he turned in to, the one who was not ashamed to kiss his mum, dad or sisters and tell them he loved them - not caring even if his mates were watching. A man who loved his daughters, his little princesses, and no matter what he was going through himself made sure to keep in touch with.

Time heals, I know. I've lived through this before when my dad died. But it doesn't take away the loss, you still feel it, it just becomes something you learn to live with.

Matt - My Brother

3rd November 1972 - 18th June 2008.

Charity Begins At Home?

The old adage seems true... at least it does in our house according to Noah.

It was my birthday yesterday (thanks for the birthday cards and wishes, I had a lovely day) and the children woke me with cards and presents and singing.

All except Noah that is who came, literally with 'cup in hand', and announced that as of yesterday he was starting a charity. For himself!!! He is an avid collector of coins... he doesn't feel as if he has enough... and apparently he needs more.

The things this not quite 6 year old comes out with never ceases to amaze me.