A Mass of Odds and Ends

None of our children suffer from false modesty and they had a lovely time putting on different scarves and wrist warmers in front of the mirror until the moment came when I ushered them outside. On a day which switched from bright sunshine to snow storms modelling cashmere outdoors seemed hard work. Each time I opened the door to usher one frozen model indoors and call for another snatches of the Entertainer, played by one hand, drifted onto the terrace.  Both boys have recently taken up the piano, but they tell me that due to their inherent natural talent they don’t need any formal lessons, preferring to do it their own way. In Sam’s case this (naturally enough) means picking out the notes of “My Way” whilst his younger brother is following his lead in learning The Entertainer.  Finally I called for all models at once, leaving Aldo in peace with the washing up and some mellow jazz on his ipod.

Winter days start abruptly at six forty when Sam and I hunch our shoulders against the cold and pick our way gingerly to the frozen car. I’ve usually forgotten to cover the windscreen with a cloth (Aldo’s solution to frosted windscreens) which means that I pick frenetically at the thick layer of ice with whatever comes to hand, (usually a cd case) clearing a small circle which enables me to peer out as I navigate up our road, occasionally opening my door (the driver’s window hasn’t opened for a while…) to check that we’re not hitting the verge as the windscreen wipers and heater work on clearing the ice.

Back home after delivering both children to school, battling for space in front of our wood-burning stove with four chilly cats, I’m working on setting up an Etsy shop, selling my gold and silver jewellery and cashmere scarves.  The cats are delighted, settling down with evident gusto on the folded pile of scarves waiting to be photographed.  Do email me if you’d like to receive the Etsy shop address.