I do spend a long time carefully composing for you all, that's composing, not composting, which I don't do at the moment, sadly as I want to get the compost heap dug in to avoid the furry creatures living in it which I fear happened last time we were doing it. A Brownie mum said 'I saw you in the Echo' and asked when the team were going to start on the garden ( again!). I am a minor celebrity having been in the Echo twice. Anyway, the designer is coming next Friday ( has been ill so been delayed) to show me the draft designs, but , and its a big one WE DO ALL THE WORK. So don't expect a garden from the Chelsea Flower show to be suddenly visible from our kitchen.

So much to tell you, that's why they are so long! First of all, my new job starts after half term, as an INFANT TEACHER!!! Ha Ha! I am deadly serious, which I fear will not go down well with 5 year olds. Luckily for me I have a handy Infant in my pocket at home, so can try out my jokes on A and she laughs discerningly. I will be doing 3 days a week in year 1 whilst someone is off long term being ill, so inderterminate length of time - til Easter at least.

Now, the February money thing is going well - or was until R went a bit wild yesterday and bought a train ticket to Cosham instead of cycling because it was raining. And the car had MOT and service, which I have divided by 12 as it is an annual cost. We have done really well with food, R made a big lasagne which has lasted 3 meals, and there's a vat of chicken curry in the fridge which will do 2 maybe 3 meals. We do like doing such batch cooking, but its been great to see what a difference it makes to our outgoings. Despite the car and train expenditure, we still have £35 to last til Sunday which is for bread, milk and fun money, but I will use some of it on buying next week's shopping.

On Saturday we had a quiet day at Furzey (sorry you missed it). Which was all going well until R texted to ask where the car key was ( I got a lift so he could have the car). The answer was in my bag next to me. So, he got the girls on the bikes and cycled to swimming, then to Netto where he did the shopping and loaded up panniers and a basket and got girls and shopping home. No mean feat when you consider he also had A on her cross bar seat on his bike. Wish he had taken a photo. He did so well I am going to ask him to do it again this Saturday.

If I believed there was a Sod, I would be cursing his law for sending snow for the first time in 19 years or whatever it is, in the year we have planned to go on a skiing holiday, at great expense and with great preparation and excitement. And we could have hires some skis from Sod and skiied down to the Coop. As it was, we had a fun commute on Monday, with R and Rob G taking a detour from getting to their school to take me to mine, and then on Tuesday both I and the girls had a day off, so we went to the park and did the kind of things you do in the snow when you are 7 or 5. What bliss! We also cooked soup and banana bread, learnt Spanish ( H made a powerpoint) did some maths and didn't watch any TV! It was a lovely day, but did make me realise that all my dreams of home schooling (being a great thing I want to do at the end of the holidays) would dull a bit after about one day. You see, the holidays are fun and the girls are lovely, because its the holidays, and if it were everyday it would drive me round the bend and they would be climbing the walls.