And this morning the Shed is a silver thread, glimmering through the trees…

Highlight so far: having to explain "concubine" because Jamie was able to recognise that Geoffrey's Grandmama's answer of "it's a type of vegetable," was an inaccurate brush-off response. So proud!

This is amazing and beautiful and evil and wonderful and asking for trouble and I Know I Must Not but maybe I should?

Another day, another 4am Jamie wake-up. Another half hour getting him resettled - and now I'm back in my own bed, wide awake and in a considerable amount of pain.

Guy who did Dry January

Jamie and I are having a cultural exchange. I have given him @terryandrob.bsky.social 's /Where's My Cow/, /World Of Poo/, and /The Last Hero/. In return I will read some of Dav Pilkey's Dog Man books.

A lot of viable options, I'm going with

Adults have lied to you for your whole life.

Ah, it's everything we dreamed it would be.

Current mental state: I have some perfectly ordinary sore muscles around my left arm and shoulder, but every time they twinge, a bit of me is like, "come onnnn, heart attack, we can do this..."

My child has had lifelong access to screens, toys, books, Lego, playgrounds, bicycles, art materials, AND adults willing to engage with him, and hey, guess what? He can confidently use all those things. Screens don't magically wipe out other activities. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Steve is getting Jamie a maccies, and I'm sat in a Cote with a glass of wine.

Results: getting the battery indicator down to half took 5.4km, or about 3.4 miles. This is... okay. But I think I might start looking for something with better range.

Finally getting the opportunity to test out my new wheelchair batteries. Starting with a mosey for a pub lunch (which I know is a safe distance), then I'll be heading back towards home and doing laps of the nearest park, with Pokémon Go tracking my distance "walked".

I have *opinions* on this. My first is that they've got very muddled on cause and effect. share.google/JMp0c0szdWYu...

I look forward to there being absolutely no ramifications and no questions put to him by any news providers when he's invited on to talk about whatever the hell subject takes his fancy

This is a tricky issue that my husband and I can't make up our minds about. Sleep is practically our religion, but...

There are rules you know.

Oh so people like potato products coming out of the electrics? I also have chips coming out of my plug sockets. This whole house is a mess

Thinking back to when I had potatoes coming out of my light switches

I don’t want to fight in a war in general, it sounds awful. I especially don’t want to fight in a war when the antagonist can be riled up by a tweet and out strategised by a crayon.

Opened cutlery drawer, got scissors, snipped corner off bag of frozen veg. 👍 Put scissors into plastic recycling, and snipped-off corner of plastic veggie bag into cutlery drawer. 😞

1

Jamie, age 10: six-seven! Six-seven! Hahaha! Six-seven! Hey, mama, are there any other number memes? Me, old and absent-minded: hmm, there's Rule 34... Jamie: what's that? Me: 😳

No new pictures - where are you, "mentally"?

From the 1960s, five London vehicles to cut out & make. www.presentandcorrect.com/blogs/blog/c... A double decker bus, a mail train, a black cab, a news truck & a post van.

School have persuaded something called "Family Help" to agree to allocate a worker to complete an assessment to identify whether Jamie (who's been out of school for 10 months) or our family have any need for support. I will be notified when a worker has been assigned.

Jamie was woken by the storm about 2am, and I was woken by Jamie. He went back to sleep really well. I on the other hand am WIDE awake, but also tired. I suspect I'll doze off about 6.

School is cancelled tomorrow. I absolutely cackled at the "we will send learning home" email.

Safely home. Steve is waiting for the recovery guy at the garden centre, which I've decided is pretty much the best place to break down that isn't your house or the mechanic's workshop.

Jamie did good work this morning and asked to go out for lunch. The Weather isn't supposed to hit until late afternoon so we figured lunch was safe. 15mins from home the car started playing up. Great luck, the next safe place to pull over was a garden centre with car park, cafe and loos.

"We train our officers to repeatedly shoot unarmed women in the face on the basis of nothing" isn't the win you think it is. You fash fucking cunt.

The end of Blackadder Goes Forth. Whole series of comic daftness and bickering, then without betraying that, punches you in the feels.

I should finally get my replacement battery for my outdoorsy wheelchair back on Friday afternoon. *Looks at weather forecast* Great.

Stood up from the loo, got dizzy, collapsed, clonged my jaw off the sink, then the back of my head off the bathtub. Got a DV talk from the GP ("just to be on the safe side,") at an unrelated appointment the following week.

Well, the most recent one in my current read (Maskerade by Terry Pratchett) was an unworn paper party hat from a cracker.

While I have no desire to remain in the chaos of 2025, I also feel quite strongly that I am not ready for 2026.

I am comfortable and warm in bed, hoping to be unconscious soon. Fireworks have been going off since about 8pm so with any luck we're desensitized enough to sleep through the midnight ones.

FFS, the water's off again. Now to attempt holiday socialising whilst horribly aware that in lieu of a shower it's "best efforts with wet wipes".

Happy Hogswatch to all who celebrate. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Truly it is Christmas Eve. So glad we get to still enjoy it here on bluesky.

Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

8pm fireworks, causing great delight I'm sure to all the parents trying to get their under-7s into bed so they can finish the wrapping.

Sat at a playground. The sun is shining, but it's chilly, even with my top, hoodie, big scarf, gloves, knee length coat, and travel mug of tea. The Child is running, climbing, spinning, swinging, and has just handed me his hoodie.

Current stress level: double portion of pasta.

It’s the Ghost of last minute Christmas Shopping come to help you pull your hair out.

Still no water - a burst main. There's trucks and diggers and a whole bunch of guys in bright orange jackets. I simultaneously feel bad for them - it's cold and dark and damp out there - but also hopeful that we'll have water tomorrow.

Oh goody, a festive water supply fail. That's what was needed to help things along today.

covid rules should apply in the shops from 21st-26th. one shopper per party, one in one out of the shop, no pissing about, if you've missed beetroot on the way round tough, no going back

Making grocery shopping list. Trying to remember that I'm preparing for a week or so as a family of three, rather than a fucking siege.