Thursday 28 May 2015

HOUSEWIFE SURVIVAL TIPS


My ample experience in homemaking has allowed me to develop some state-of-the art tips for those other housewives foundering in never-ending tasks and becoming desperate for some free time and rest. Here go the first two.


How to keep ironing to a minimum.

1.Hang the clothes out to dry.


2. Let them remain on the line until it rains.


3. Allow the clothes to become soaking wet.


4. Leave clothes on the line until they are dry again.


5. Repeat step 2 as many times as necessary.


6. Remove clothes from line, which by now will be as smooth as lake on a summer day, fold, and put away.


7. Enjoy a cup of tea and a magazine.





Management of leftovers and tupperwares.


1.Place leftovers in a tupperware. Do not worry if the amount is smaller than one serving - keep it anyway, just in case.


2. Insert tupperware in fridge, preferably towards the top and back.


3. Peer into tupperware occasionally, sniffing contents suspiciously if necessary.


4. When the amount of mold growing over the contents is satisfactory, dispose of contents and wash container - or,


4b. Place container back into fridge for several more weeks. When contents are too gross to manipulate, toss the tupperware and its contents into the garbage.


5. When this process has been repeated several times, enjoy the thrill of buying a new tupperware set. You can also go to the cosmetics department and buy some lipstick, handcream, and that expensive gold powder shampoo you've secretly coveted for a long time.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

I don't want to forget... from the month of April.


Sam is pointing at everything now. He strains against me, his whole body reaching out to what he's seen, little index finger stoutly pointing, every fiber of his being riveted on the object of his attention. The bear! Those three portraits. They had been Lara's when she was a baby. Now as I'm getting him dressed he repeats his solemn "ohs" over and over as he gets a glimpse of them over my shoulder. The bear finding the three eggs and showing them to the hedgehog. "Oh". The bear jumping into the water, splash!! and sending the poor fish into a backward summersault. "Oh, oh." Point, point. The bear swimming in the water - look! There are the three ducks. One, two, three. "Oh." Point. Smiling. He loves that bear. And the three owls too. The green one, the purple one and the blue one. "Oooh." He pats the box the owls are painted on, and they stare back at him in a rather friendly way with yellow unblinking eyes.


This week has brought new second hand bikes for the older children. Paul's red bike was getting hopelessly small for him and Lara, although her biking stlye is, shall we say, a little more serene than Paul's, also needed an upgrade. She is growing fast and her long legs were almost reaching her chin!


Paul has entered into a new biking dimension now - with his double suspension and 7 speeds, he controls the bike remarkably well for his age, and will grow into it soon. He hops around on one foot while he tries to sit on the seat now, and then he's off - who knows when his feet will touch the ground again.

Today was Father's Day - it has been beautiful. We had pancakes for breakfast with letter pancakes spelling out Papa for Dani, complete with Nocilla, sprinkles and whipped cream. We had a special lunch of hamburgers with all the toppings and French fries. The children presented Dani the cards they had made - Lara's a funny story about her as a baby and choosing her father, and Paul's with big letters complete with glitter. Lara read out the poem I wrote for Dani, and it was a general success - we all felt the love going around.