When we first moved into The Cottage we had an integrated fridge. It was neatly tucked away out of sight, which was good from a cleaning perspective, but it meant we had nowhere to stick precious photographs, art works and aides-memoires that display the life of a young family. Last summer, the fridge that came with the house gave up working and rather than replace it with the same style, we bought a large family-sized fridge which in turn … [Read more...]
Music, panacea and the Goodmans Oxford Radio
The radio makes all the difference in the morning. Once I'm up and dressed, I head to the kitchen and turn on the music. As the cottage is all on one level, the upbeat songs drift down the hallway to The Girls and bring them into the kitchen to get dressed. It's an early start for us, and in the winter when we leave the house in the dark it's particularly hard so happy music is our soundtrack. They love turning the sound up loud, … [Read more...]
Can do. Kano Computer kids can build themselves.
When I was eight years old, Santa brought our family a ZX Spectrum. A black keyboard with tape deck, it plugged into the TV and changed our lives. That year I got a similarly black "ghetto blaster" which kept me occupied the endless hours when my father and brothers dominated the computer and TV playing American football. I never really got a look in. Fast forward 30 years, I spend a lot of my time on computers but I still have no idea how … [Read more...]
Adopting an Olive Tree with Pomora
An article in a newspaper is responsible for my freezer being filled with cherries. It's the reason I have three cherry stoners, a cupboard filled with jars of jams and compotes, and why I can't eat cherries after the end of July. We rent a cherry tree, the fruit from which we get to pick and keep every July. I spend about four days surrounded by boxes of up to 14kg cherries that need quick processing in the heat of the summer. The point … [Read more...]
What to watch on the Amazon Fire TV Box
When I learned there was a TV set top box coming to market from Amazon, I signed up immediately, keen to take advantage of the saving- it cost £59.99 at the early bird rate*- and try out the future of television. We don't have Smart TVs at The Cottage. To be honest we struggle to get internet some days, despite the fact that high speed broadband has already come to our corner of the Kent countryside. But my grumble about my exchange not yet being … [Read more...]
What I wore to recreate our first date #ootd
There's been a hint of Spring in the air: the sight of snowdrops and crocuses flowering, a couple of gloriously sunny days over half-term, half-term itself in fact. And this half-term we made the most of the spring weather, heading into London with The Girls to recreate our first date. DH and I met for the first time at Benihanas in Piccadilly, on a chilly December day. We had lunch then wandered down the road to the Royal Academy to enjoy … [Read more...]
Dyson DC41 Animal Complete Upright Vacuum Cleaner Review
For the last few months DH and I have been camping out in the Guest Room whilst walls are knocked out, and others are built, with a view to us having a snappy Master En Suite and Dressing Room. It's the latest stage of our ongoing home renovation. But the wait is beginning to get to me. So too is the mess. And our builders are fairly tidy. But the combination of dust- brick and saw- and dog hair and the general detritus of life in our cottage is … [Read more...]
