How many times has that question punched you in the chest over the years?  It can be the little daily things like watching your dog, muck to the eyeballs, jumping over a freshly mopped floor, or driving through a massive puddle in your newly washed car, or giving your kids lollipops straight after a trip…

Is one thing I (and probably most people) hate being.  If there is ever a circumstance where things are unpredictable, messy or just downright failing to follow my wishes then I meet it with uncontrollable rage and hysterical flapping.  Ironically.

The more everyone panics. About being stopped from doing important things. Of course, if that means you’re stuck in an airport, or you’re in labour then it is important. But take me, for example: I’m groaning at the heavy sky because I have an appointment with my beauty Salon. How can life go on if…

It’s been bothering me for a good while now- the hypocrisy of telling my son to practise his piano and clarinet every day when my own viola lies neglected below the stairs. ‘My practising days are done’ I tell myself as I stress the importance of starting with scales to him. I hated having to…

The past couple of months have been tough- for so many people I know and for me too in a smaller measure. What do you do, think or say when times are this dark? Honestly, I’ve no idea. Somehow words emblazoned on coffee cups or embroidered on cushions just fly away in the face of…

Last year I told you about my father-in-law’s tradition of getting a terrible Christmas tree.  Sadly this year he told me to write about redemption as he had found a tree without fault this time round! While my perfectionist nature would not let me select a faulty one to fuel another blog post, the tree…

What can’t you live without? Three weeks ago when my husband commandeered our laptop I would have said I could manage without it. Now, I’m not so sure. Week one was fine, I just worked on paper. Week two I was getting snappy. Week three I stopped writing altogether and read a book. It’s week…

It started out just a bog-standard Wednesday – getting up early, heading in to push paper round in his dead-end job as office adminstrator for the Simon Community. It really had been better when he was just a volunteer, but that type of charity doesn’t clothe and feed the people who do it, ironically. Sitting…

She looked in the full-length mirror and a podgy, wonky-legged middle-aged woman pulled a face at her. She adjusted her cat suit and sucked in her bulges. Five seconds later, they were back. She let out her breath with relief. Her legs were bent at the knees, shaking. She pointed at herself. One last time…

I know I’ve heard people recently dismissing the concept of lifelong learning as a waste of time, but I beg to differ.  There is something incredibly freeing about the idea that we can develop new skills, change our mind, try something different. On a deeper level, being ‘teachable’ when hard times hit is the only…