Could’ve been worse.
Up at 6:45, wake the kids. Dress. Make sure the kids are up! Go downstairs it’s dark put a lamp on go into the kitchen start making packed lunches. Check the kids are waking up and getting up!
Put the coffee machine on, finished the packed lunches feeling quite proud of myself that I had a plan in my mind last night so I knew what I was doing makes things so much better.
Get the kids off to school just about in time ( only a short debate on the doorstep about which route was being taken to school one wanting to go to the woods – in the semi dark – proud!… direct to her building the other wanting to go up the road direct to hers, I feel sad they’re not walking together but I understand they need to take the best route for them )
Feed the cats. I look at the coffee machine and think, “you know what I’m going to do a job before I have coffee. I’m going to mince my Christmas mincemeat (yes I do mince mine, otherwise it’s ‘dried fruit mix’ in my opinion) if and put it in jars.” So by 8 am I’ve done that. I walk out into the hallway to go to the bathroom before I finally make my coffee, to find cat sick all over the rug. Delightful.
I put that cats outside and clean up, go to the loo thinking all the while about the flavour of my Christmas mincemeat and how it doesn’t taste quite the same as usual. I put this down to the new mix of fruit brackets (currents not available AT ALL in Switzerland it seems and genuine raisins also not found so used a different mixture of fruit than the recipe states so it’s not traditional British mincemeat!). Then I realise with the start that I never put sugar in with the fruit and alcohol and spices. Pants! I decide to scoop it all back out of the jars and stir in some sugar and a bit of extra spice while I’m at a it (thinking thank heavens for dishwashers as well)!
Ten minutes later that’s done, the sugar is all stirred in, bowl covered, dishwasher emptied and restacked with the jars. To be honest I was a bit worried they maybe hadn’t been sterilised properly so all in all it’s probably not a bad thing.
Coffee time. At last! Hurray. While making my double flat white I notice this, but hey ho:
Take my coffee and my biscuits and step into the salon – curtains still closed, one lamp still on – it was still dark the last time I wasn’t in the kitchen! Hold on a moment… Did my foot just feel a bit slippery on the floor there? Oh no don’t tell me the cat sicked in here too? Sort that out, draw the curtains, this was the view.
Having coffee.
And breathe.
Jumping Off Books 