Jerry is still awol. I am vaguely starting to wonder how long he'd have to be missing before I started making some sort of enquiries with...someone. A week? A month? J suggested we ring him (at least he is missing him. Bless.) but on what number? (J suggested the number on his business card but I explained he is unlikely to be at work). No doubt he will roll in later this evening.

Life continues much as usual in Jerry's absence. We slept in this morning and I ended up on the school run with my hair still wet and not a scrap of make up on. I am hardly ever without a bit of slap these days. T and I came home again so that I could finish my toilette (it just sounds wrong that, doesn't it? It implies I was either washing myself using water out of the toilet, or having a shit), then it was the last dancing babies before Christmas, and then the usual supermarket sweep. We are creatures of habit on Mondays. T has also watched numerous Old Bear Stories (or at least the same six stories numerous times). After school we made some craftacular festive pencil toppers, ate cake, and J and I failed to build a mini meccano kit of a spitfire (due to a lack of application from both parties).

And today I have managed to begin my Women's Periods without several days of hormonal grumps or a total emotional breakdown*. I put this down to either being at home for the weekend, not having Jerry around, or not being at work. Whatever it is, excellent progress all round.

* = I am not known for my overemotional ways to be honest. Apart from - or perhaps because of - the outpourings of grief I experienced as a small girl reading Black Beauty (I couldn't see the words on the page for tears. Mam had to read it to me. She cried as well), I only cry at really sad things, i.e. Because Someone Is Dead, or When Bad Things Happen To Animals Or Small Children. So my total emotional breakdowns don't amount to very much, apart from a bit of bad-temperedness. The one time I really let it all out was when I was 8 months pregnant with J and Jerry was driving me mental refusing to help with various things, and I screamed and shouted at him for several minutes. It surprised us both I think, but it got the job done. The fact that I have only done this once is ridiculous considering what a twat Jerry is. I must have the patience of a saint.

Back from the farm. It was nice. Like a little practice for Christmas. It was all eating too much and having meals out and receiving visits from relatives and wellwishers and tippling in the afternoon and whatnot. 7 small children and the assorted adults they belong to - plus other, free-floating adults - have arrived over the course of the day for pass the parcel, pin the bow-tie on Wallace, gingerbread men decorating sessions and other general festivities. To be honest T was a bit tired and was not the life and soul of the party, though he was quite happy to see everyone and had moments of high excitement here and there, and he got another birthday cake (Mam's traditional hedgehog cake) with more candles to blow out.

And now I feel strangely as though a weight has been lifted from me. Not sure what. Possibly the fact that T's birthday celebrations are now officially over so I have no further party hostess responsibilities for now, plus the J/school business is sort of becoming old news in that I have become more or less inured to it, and the Christmas preparations I had been failing to execute are mostly done now. Or maybe it's because I've had a nice weekend at home, away from Newcastle and without Jerry. No sign of Jerry back from his geezer-fest yet. I assumed he'd be back tonight but realise now that he never actually said that.

It's like holidays here today! The reason being that Jerry, the Household Oppressor (or should that be Depressor?), has gone off to a rock festival for fat old blokes who like the Wedding Present. It is at Butlins at Minehead, which is not the most convenient location to reach from Newcastle. He set off very early this morning and will not be back until Sunday. The boys and I have used his absence so far to enjoy all manner of preposterous behaviour, like putting the Christmas tree up (far too early I know, but J was so keen, and they so love the precarious trip up the ladder to the loft), eating pizza and beans (a favourite of mine dating back to school dinners) and drinking wine (me only - also a favourite of mine, though never for school dinners) and fruitshoots (J and T) for our supper while watching a DVD (Old Bear Stories - not my choice), and making J go to sleep alone instead of getting into bed with him. Actually, Jerry would not have cared tuppence either way about whether we did any of the above things, except the last one.

Tomorrow we are going to the Nursery Christmas Fair in the morning, then we are off to the farm where we will be going out for a meal tomorrow night and then having a family party for T's birthday on Sunday. I have approximately 12 million things to remember to take with me, so I am going off to sort them out now. Also, I may or may not bake another birthday cake tonight.

It has been a big turnaround today. Thanks to my not bothering to be a regional conference today (or whatever) I have instead done most of my Chriistmas shopping and then wrote more than half of my Christmas cards tonight. There are even plans to put the tree up tomorrow. I feel like Mary Fucking Christmas! Go me! Without visiting Newcastle city centre or anywhere more than about 6 miles away, I have managed to shop at 3 different branches of Marks and Spencer. I have also bought myself 2 sweater dresses, 2 tops, 1 cardigan, 1 pair of black patent mary janes, and some tights. (Retrenching is old news by the way. I am now planning to get a 'loan' from the Bank of Margot, i.e. my ISA, so I can stabilise my personal economy). I was sad to see that Borders near to us is closing, but since I haven't been there since the spring, and since I didn't even buy anything there today with the sale on because it's still dearer than Amazon, I'm not sure I'll miss it that much.

The people of Newcastle all look like shit. I'm sure I've mentioned this previously. They all look so grey and haggard. And pikey-ish, a lot of them, too. These observations always strike me when I spend any time mixing with the hoi polloi by going to the shops (which is not that often). I remember being struck by it when I first came here as a student. It's not like that in Carlisle you know.

The meeting with Miss D and the SENCO has happened. It was okay. The SENCO was nice but Miss D seemed to be on the defensive. She appeared to be absolutely wracking her brains for examples to justify the fact they are concerned about J, I think because they say he is a bit of a borderline case for SEN intervention. They cannot find anything in particular, only that he is a daydreamer and does not concentrate well and often does not complete tasks in time. The written word is a problem for him - reading and writing - and he seems unable to achieve what they'd expect based on his verbal intelligence. Now I am thinking I'm glad they are on the ball and investigating things because I'd hate for him to have a problem that went unnoticed and end up falling behind.

I have just had a glass of wine (and then another one) simply because Stacey said on Gavin and Stacey that she wasn't drinking for health reasons, to which Nessa replied 'don't be a twat, Stace'.

It has been a day of ups and downs but for once I am going to emphasise the positives and whadyacallit the negatives. The good things have included getting my car sorted out for free this time (it was an airlock - probably caused by the garage anyway and easily fixed I expect), and finding J's report card for last term and realising I have not been completely deluding myself about him because it was really quite good. He was only performing below average on writing and physical development (it recommended he got practice at home with football etc. I believe this at least is Jerry's department, being as he professes to be so keen on playing football himself. Unsurprisingly he very seldom bothers to play ball with the boys). Also, he was above average on almost everything else (he was especially fab on emotional development. Bless). I also found his last IEP so that was quite useful. It had two aspects he needed to improve on listed on it both marked English. I'll take these things along tomorrow when I see Miss D - it might help me a bit. I have finished the thank you cards for T's birthday presents (for now anyway - some presents are still on their way). Me and the boys have made some fab Christmas tree decorations using Mr Maker's favourite, air-drying clay and cookie cutters. Finally, I have bought three presents - not exactly Christmas presents, but birthday presents I have to buy at Christmas (the women in my family seem to have made a habit of birthing bairns during yuletide. Ungodly, that's what it is). So that's good. I'm supposed to be a boring regional conference tomorrow and I am seriously considering blowing the whole thing off and going Christmas shopping instead (the original plan was to go, but leave early and go shopping, but I have since re-thought the matter. No one will ever know, and if I were to learn anything new and/or interesting at this conference, it would be a bloody miracle. Especially if I don't actually turn up).

T is upstairs in bed singing Jingle Bells. Awww. He is learning carols for the Christmas concert at nursery next week. We have had Little Donkey and We Wish You a Merry Christmas already this week.

Suddenly the rain has stopped and it has turned frosty. Which made us late for school this morning, as the latest car-related problem is that the heating won't work now so it was a bugger to defrost (I had no de-icer either). It is going back to the garage tomorrow and I have told them that I believe this to be their fault and that I am not of a mind to be giving them any more money (or ever going back there again after tomorrow). Bloody car.

I have been in rather a bad mood all day. I feel as if something has got to give or I might rupture something one day soon. It is a combination of things: J and school, the party which I organised and did all the work for with almost no help from Jerry (thank goodness for my mother at times like this) and which has exhausted me, the hag visiting which always raises my hackles, the vast amount of money I keep having to spend on rubbish things like getting the car fixed, the fact I have done almost nothing yet to prepare for Christmas, T being in tears over going to nursery this morning as he's moved up to the Sunflowers, Jerry still being adamant he will not sell the fucking flat, feeling fat, another month gone by with no chance of pregnancy...I'm sure there's more but that's enough to be going on with. Not for the first time lately, I have disappeared off upstairs by myself to wallow in the bath this evening, only to be joined by J and T in short order. Which was quite nice, and which I turned into an educational opportunity (go me!) with J using the foam alphabet bath letters. Then I have read them half of a rather spooky Roald Dahl story before bed. I am hoping no one has nightmares tonight. I am going to have a medicinal glass or two of pink wine now, as I believe that what I need is what workmate S's mam would call 'a good drink'.

So we had a kafrillion people in our small home yesterday. Children are okay because they are small and bendy, but adults are more difficult to house and they often require a seat as well. I think there were about 25 adults and 11 kids. Some of the kids played some of the party games, but in general they preferred tearing around upstairs and tipping games on the floor. T was smothered with love and affection by E, who also took a shine to J and another small boy. She's going to be a handful in a few years time. The grown ups had booze and chit-chat to keep them amused. I seemed to have little idle time to partake in chat, though I certainly got through some wine (I need booze to get through my occasional society hostess duties). Most of the food got eaten, though we are still wading happily through cake leftovers today. Now I've got T's birthday out of the way, I can surrender myself to worrying about the fact I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet.

Today we have had to return to the dentists to get T's teeth looked at (with better success this time), then we have had dancing babies. T has finished opening all his presents (me and J opened quite a few as he was not that bothered) and played with his new castle which seems to be the biggest hit so far. J has also had a fabulous time playing with T's new toys. I have built a garage that the hag bought for T. The hag has been round for an hour this afternoon.

We also went off for a drive round the village where our Potential New Home is this afternoon. The PNH is very promising. We went to look at it yesterday morning and were enthralled by its many lovely details like the Enormous Bathroom with Two Sinks, Whirlpool Bath and Underfloor Heating, It is on an odd little narrow back lane type of a street, and I am not that sure about the village, or the local school which is literally yards away from the house, but the house itself is very very nice. There is no fire place in the living room, and the kitchen is long and narrow so you can't eat there (the dining room is massive though), but those are the only small faults I can find. The people selling it do not really want to move until next Easter, which would suit us as it would give us time to try to sell this place, and also take other measures such as the Lottery, Euromillions and Sky Soccer Super Six (I would also mention the Scoop Six but Jerry has done this every week for years and he is clearly rubbish at it as he has not yet won £100K). Actually, if we were to win any of those, I wouldn't buy this house anyway, I'd be able to afford something more expensive.

Party. Oh I am quite tired now. I think everyone enjoyed it. I think T had a good day. Ironically, because of the party I have not spent much of the day with T. Anyway, Happy Birthday T, my little love. And now I think it's time for a bath and bed because I am totally fucked.

Busy day. I have cleaned the house - and Christ it was filthy once you looked below the generally fairly clean surface - and it is spick and span. I have baked two birthday cakes (one chocolate and one plain. The plain one is going to have strawberries and fresh cream artfully plopped in and around it). I have blown up many balloons, wrapped several presents, and stuck up sundry banners, streamers and photos of T in an eye-catching display (much more to follow tomorrow. J is very keen to help with all this so I couldn't just do it all myself tonight, though that would have probably been the easier and more successful option). I have spent numerous pounds which I cannot afford on pizzas, crisps, dips, wine, beer, fruitshoots, helium balloons etc, and then dragged my purchases back here and put them away. I have picked up T's new digger from the post office (long queue, inadequate staffing etc etc). I have 'arranged' some 'party games'. I have made jelly, with the help of my two small assistants. I have also welcomed our first party guests, who arrived an unfashionable 24 hours early due to a cock up on the date front. It was T's little friend E and her parents and baby sister. It was quite good really as I had not yet 'met the parents' so it will take some of the pressure off tomorrow (also for them, who probably have no idea that the child's party they are going to will likely turn into a right booze-up). D has also popped round with T's present, as it seems she has a deep-seated belief that people should have their presents to open on the morning of their birthday and no later.

I've done a load of ironing as well. I'm totally fucked. All this activity has been made easier by Jerry, the hag, and the boys all going off to the races for the afternoon, where the hag infuriated Jerry by failing to look after the boys and allow him to study the form and place winning bets. Instead she did the placing bets/collecting winnings type stuff, which infuriated him even further. Ha! Those two deserve each other. The boys, meanwhile, had a fab time running about and rolling in the dirt.

Well, things are getting better. Although I am saying that with half a bottle of wine inside me so, you know. I am managing to see J for what he really is at home without the SEN cloud hanging over us (talkative, funny, imaginative, silly, polite etc. Also someone who can make a darn good bird puppet when the need arises). We've just got back from Peppy's (the hag's treat, luckily, as I am utterly destitute thanks to a second visit to the garage and a new fan motor costing £140). Today has involved a visit to a knitting group, where I got tea and cake, a lovely chat with project lady who is lovely, and various bits of fluffing around the office achieving very little (mostly emails, plus rearranging books again). The weekend promises a lot of party planning plus some logistical nightmares wondering how we might manage to fit 40 or so people into our small house. Having already partaken of wine this evening, I am of course thirsty for more. To the fridge!

Various things have gone on today - the car has resumed its whining, we have been to J's last swimming lesson, Jerry has had the day off work and been resolutely bone idle in the face of the various child wrangling tasks needing done, I have spent my time at work alternately ringing people up, sending emails and shifting piles of books around, T has enjoyed his 23rd and 24th showings of the Were-Rabbit of the week - but it has all been mere backdrop to my ongoing preoccupation with J and school. I have been one of those people who spends every unattended moment staring off into the distance and fails to listen to anything anyone else says that is longer than a sentence, and I have only the sketchiest idea of what's been going on for most of the day as a result. I need to marshall my thoughts and start to accept the matter, but these things take time to work through. I couldn't get to sleep last night for ages as I was mulling it over. I am not one of life's worriers as a whole. Mam always assured me that when you have children, you will always find something to worry about. Thanks Mam! Right again! We have been reading tonight: 'A New Dog'. He wouldn't sit still and his attempts to dissemble were masterful, but when he actually concentrated he did quite well. Not to give too much away about the book, but (spoiler alert!) it ended with them choosing Floppy and taking him away from the dogs' home.

I have also found a potential new home for us. It is in a former mining village a few miles north of Newcastle. The house itself looks fab and very cheap: four bedrooms, conservatory, two bathrooms, dining room, study, utility room (utility room! For some reason this thrills me), all proper sized rooms as well, not glorified cupbards. The garden is over 60 ft long. However, I assume there must be some flaw. It all looks too good to be true. We are going to see it on Sunday. The estate agent tipped me off that the street doesn't look much but the house is fab. So no doubt the area has nothing on downtown Kabul and the residents are like extras from Shameless.

Now I feel rather stupid on several counts. I didn't have to go and find Miss D this afternoon as she came looking for me first. I have to go to a meeting at school next week about J's Individual Education Plan. Which of course is all about this SEN business. I knew about the IEP from last year, but of course Miss B introduced it in very different terms, saying J needed a little extra help and support with some aspects etc etc. I didn't in any way get the impression that this was something out of the ordinary - I thought half the class had them (it turns out J and two others in class have one). And then of course it hasn't even been mentioned since, although over a year has passed. In essence, I still feel shit about it. I was working with some of the lower ability children today in class, and there's not much difference as far as I can see between them and J in terms of what they can do, which is reassuring I suppose. J is of course a world-class daydreamer, which doesn't help.

And the car cost £180. My cup runneth over.

I wanted to go and help in J's class so I could learn more about him. Well, I have. Miss D has a list up in her cupboard with notes on the various abilities and needs of the class. J's name is down under SEN. I just noticed this on the way out about 20 minutes ago. I feel a bit sick. I need to go in and talk to her about it and find out what exactly it means (I know what it stands for) and what we can do to help him, if anything. I don't know why she didn't mention this at Parents' Evening. Is it not really a big deal or something? Has he been assessed? Has he got a statement? Or is it more just their opinion? Aren't parents meant to be involved in this sort of thing? Bizarrely, I've been walking home thinking about his birth and wondering whether something went wrong then...next stop will be brooding over my failures as a parent, no doubt.

Apart from this, it's been a wonderful morning. Jerry flooded the bathroom and kitchen by leaving the leaky shower head on the side of the bath all night. I've taken the car to the garage to get its myriad problems fixed (exhaust, fan belt, brakes, who knows what else? It was cutting out on the way there this morning so probably that too). I'm not at all sure that is the proper use of the word 'myriad'. T had a tantrum over getting ready and Jerry shouted at him, then Jerry ended up taking him into nursery too (with T wailing like his heart was broken). It's wild and windy and keeps raining. I've been through the exhausting business of spending an hour and a half at school and now I've got a headache. I am now working from home for the rest of the day though, and I predict that there will be much tea, and possibly cake. Following that will be the difficult business of talking to Miss D and paying an enormous garage bill. At least it's payday so I am temporarily solvent again.

I feel knackered today. I was awake in the night for an hour, after Jerry woke me up by talking in his sleep. Nothing intelligible, just some fevered mutterings accompanied by a few physical jerks. He was delivering a lecture at work today, so he thinks he was probably just doing some last-minute practising. The lecture has obviously exhausted him, as he has come home from work and immediately gone to sleep on the sofa. Usually he manages to stay awake until 8 o'clock or so, when he has a short nap while he's putting J to bed.

Me and boys have been at the dentist this afternoon for a check-up. J and I were fine (because a) neither of us cried - although he was the only one who got a sticker - and b) we didn't need anything done) but T refused to go in the chair or let the dentist near him, so I have to go back with him for another try next week. What an exciting week this is turning into. Yesterday: new shoes. Today: dentist. Tomorrow: car going in the garage. Thursday: who knows?

1) I sometimes think that doing the washing counts as one of my hobbies. I'm not saying I enjoy it, but surely people can't always enjoy their hobbies can they? It is something I do most days, and I don't seem to be getting paid for it.

2) I have just been laughing until my insides were hurting at a new sitcom called Miranda. I'm not really sure how funny it is in the cold light of day, but it seems to make me weak with giggles. The Miranda woman is very comical.

3) I took the boys shoe shopping after school in Whitley Bay. £64 later, they were both newly shod - thankfully not in black shoes which I abhor for small children, or hideous trainers - and we went for tea and cake at a cafe to celebrate our success. 'The Bay' has puny Christmas lights in the street, and some of the shops have window displays, so it was quite festive.

4) This morning we did dancing babies, then coffee with the yummy mummies (one of the kids was having a huge tantrum, much to the mortification of her mother, who was visibly seething and on the point of tears. She asked for my advice as an experienced mother of two. 'Belt her' I counselled wisely, 'the little bastard'). Then T and I went off supermarket shopping and had our lunch there too. I have spent a lot of time and money in various cafes today. No wonder the month of retrenching has had such little effect on my bank balance (overdrawn again - payday is not until Wednesday).

5) Despite all this activity, T and I seem to have also managed to watch Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit right through twice today. I have seen it many times but I always see something new in it. This is partly because it is very well made with great attention to detail, and partly because I never wear my glasses or pay attention or sit still for more than five minutes* at a time.

6) I have been knocking back the old wines and spirits lately, so I am starting a new pledge of sobriety as of today. I hate that. Drinking every day is very habit-forming, so stopping again is no fun at all. It makes me feel like a genuine plonky. I try to stick to the 3-4 (or even 5) alcohol-free days a week thing as a general rule. Although it's surprising how often that goes tits-up and I find myself opening a bottle of wine just because it's Tuesday, or on some other flimsy pretext.

* = Given the chance, I would sit still all day, at least unless I had the opportunity to lie around all day. But there are always things to do round here which necessitate moving.

It has happened. My luck has finally run out. After over five years of arriving back in Newcastle late at night with at least one sleeping child in the car needing carried to bed, this was the time that there was no parking space within 100 yards of the house and Jerry was not here to provide any assistance either. I blocked someone's driveway not too far away to lug the boys inside and up to bed (no mean feat now with J. He's just over 3 stone - only a bit more than T - but he's tall which makes it awkward. I start off holding him up high but by the time we reach the bunker beds, his feet are trailing on the floor and I'm losing my grip on him), then locked them in the house and shot off to park in the nearest space, which was round the corner, and sprinted (ha!) back here as fast as humanly possible (ha!).

And the car is making an increasing number of bad noises. It sounds like the fan belt. It seems to happen when I stop in traffic, and I managed the whole journey to the farm, and nearly all the way back again, without having to bring the car to a standstill at all. However, I was caught out by traffic lights on the home straight, and sure enough it started again. I'll have to ring the garage tomorrow.

You know what? My hair looks fantastic at the moment. I have scarcely mentioned it since the Margot's Home Hairdressing incident, but in fact I think my little trim did wonders. It has settled into a nice long bob plus long fringe swept to the side. (Like most women, I don't suit a proper fringe.) I have an awful lot of hair, and it has a strong desire to be big and a bit frizzy, which I spend a lot of time trying to persuade it not to, not always with much success, but at the moment it is mostly looking thick and shiny, with a hint of 'movement' (as Kelly would say) but generally behaving itself and curling under slightly at the ends. Result! I have also found product-related success with some shine serum spray stuff you just bung on your hair when it's dry to tame and smooth it. It is aces.

I missed out on going out for lunch with the girls (i.e. Jerry's mates' girlfriends) today so I could take J to a party. This is a decision I came to regret after first of all turning up to find it was actually a fancy dress party but no one had told us (every one else knew it seems. It wasn't on the invitation but I think J has failed to listen while it was undoubtedly discussed at length by his classmates), although J was not in the least bothered about this. However, he did refuse to join in with any party games for the first hour, preferring instead to lie under my chair pretending to be asleep. Sometimes I despair of the boy. He is almost always on the outside when there is any sort of group activity. In a way I think he is just like me, though I was always in the middle of things as a child, and have only become socially inept, shy, awkward and aloof as I have gotten older. On the other hand, he is happy as he is. I don't ever get the idea that he is yearning to join in but can't bring himself to, although he is vastly more likely to do stuff if I'll join in too. He seems more confident with grown ups than with children his age. He did win a prize at the end for his crazy break dancing routine, and he got his nails painted purple and a tattoo on his cheek (a temporary one). Also, there were about six other kids in tears at some point or other for various reasons, including the birthday girl, but not J, so he wasn't too bad really. Sometimes I forget how little they all are really.

We have made Christmas cards today (I can say with confidence that there are going to be some very lucky people getting cards off us in a few weeks time. Masterpieces, every one), J has done his homework with relative enthusiasm and decent handwriting, the boys have helped me make pizza, and I've cleaned out the cupboard under the stairs and found that we have a damp problem under there, most likely due to a leak, probably coming from the bathroom. Fuck fuck fuckety fuck. And now I am going to go and search earnestly until I see the bottom of that bottle of wine in the fridge (I know I can see it anyway due to both glass and wine being transparent. shut up).

We've been out after work for a couple of drinks with ex-workmate BH, who left here 3 years ago to return to his native Canada. He is surprisingly unchanged after all that time. If anything he looks slightly healthier due to a slight tan, although looking healthy has never been one of his strong suits. He is also unchanged in his personality and outlook, and it was quite refreshing to see him again. I think he is the only person I know who is both genuinely political and also clued up about political/social/economic stuff.

I aimed to leave at about 7, and finally made it home by 8, just in time to kiss the boys goodnight and then walk around the house in horror at the state it is in. It calls to mind the joke about the husband coming home and finding the house utterly ravaged and saying to the wife 'what happened?' To which she says 'you know when you come home at night and ask me 'what did you do all day?' Well, today I didn't do it'. Today Jerry has clearly not done it. Also, a parcel arrived for me - containing the only Christmas/T's birthday presents I have yet managed to buy (Charlie and Lola books for T and Roald Dahl box set for J) - and they have opened it and the contents are strewn across the floor downstairs. I am really quite cross, though luckily it is cushioned by booze. Fucking Jerry. I didn't think I needed to specially mention that he shouldn't open parcels addressed to me, but obviously I should have. I have retired to bed in a huff, although the huff remains unnoticed as yet ( I am willing to stay here all night if I have to, and well into tomorrow morning).

The latest in a series of ridiculous surveys tells us that Newcastle is the most 'sustainable' city in the UK. I forget exactly how they arrived at this conclusion, or what it really means (if anything), but it is based on a variety of measures including quality of life. So it doesn't sit that well against the whole 'Newcastle Most Depressing City in UK' headlines of a couple of weeks ago. Also, I personally doubt whether they visited the bits of the West End of Newcastle I was in the other day.

Today I am:
8% conveyor of small children to their various engagements and commitments
5% worried about (the fucking) car, which is making funny noises like something is going to drop off any minute
14% fashionista (see earlier post)
22% creative writer (journal paper on community engagement is gathering pace/changing direction/getting very wafflesome)
30% pride in successful grade one swimming graduate (J)
21% single parent (Jerry is off to a work dinner, dressed in ill-fitting black tie to my great amusement, looking like a comic turn from the Northern club circuit)
9% Irsai Oliver wine (Morrisons sell it! Yay! Cheap yet delicious!)

I think that brings us to a total of about 120% (that's a guess - I'm not about to start trying to add it up)

I am setting this down for posterity. JB at work has just admired what I'm wearing and said that I am wasted here and I should have a job in the fashion industry. I'm chuffed to bits although it probably says a lot more about JB than it does about me. for the record I am wearing: short black wrap dress over black trousers, wide black belt, red cardi, big red lozenge style necklace, and high black mary janes.