I’m here by accident

I’m actually supposed to be paying a bill. I was reading a text at the same time as logging in. And then I went and checked tea. And then I arrived here, whilst I was thinking about Cal’s 18th birthday on Saturday. Perhaps I have officially lost my mind.

And I’ve had to apologise to a lot of people because I’ve been sending messages which look like I’m writing in Dutch because I’ve got a new phone and the keys are more sensitive than my other one (no touchy screeny things for me, I still work with keypads) so lots of my words have gone out with double a’s in them.

Well, it’s nice to have dropped in, even by accident, and I see that the 400,000 hit mark will definitely be achieved this week, closely followed by post number 1000. Unbelievable.

Saturday was a good day.

Ah, the oven’s bleeping, as Cal says. Time for tea.

Jo

We’re going to Dublin

for Chris and my birthdays in June. How exciting is that. Have only been once before for two hours during a horrible rain storm, so didn’t really get the best of the place. AND we are flying, to continue the Kilburn crusade to stop me being scared of it. I feel a tiny bit scared now I’ve written that though.

Where to stay though . . . . Hmm.

AND only £15370 to go. Thank you Kat Russell and your swimming.

Oh, and Mags, I forgot to answer your post. You surely can help out at craft fayres and things.

There’s a small, but growning – growning? - growing family of rhinos waiting for TKOE too. Thank you Helen and Helen’s mum.

Today is going to be a good day, I think.

Jo

Warm

It’s a beautiful early spring day here. Cal and I have just been to take some tulips down to Rosie’s grave – the church path is lined with tiny purple crocuses and looks so pretty. The graveyard is beginning to spruce itself up for spring too – there were quite a few new flowers, especially daffodils.

I always feel I must sound a bit mad when I talk about the graveyard, but it is so comforting that it seems to have a life of its own, and all the people in there look as though they get on well. Wierd, I know. But that’s how it feels to me, so I don’t care.

Bloodometer reading now = 9

And the 20k challenge only needs to raise another £15393, thanks to an educational focus today: Michelle’s OU book sales and the North Glos Headteachers. Thank you so much everyone.

We forgot pancakes on Tuesday.

Jo

3hundredand65

Go and look here http://www.3hundredand65.co.uk/

Jo

Travels

That was sneaky wasn’t it. Going away without telling anyone. We’ve just been in Cumbria for the weekend, where it was sunny, rainy and snowy all at the same time. We had a brilliant time, thanks to Pat and Twill who we stayed with. Not a lot of striding over the fells, but plenty of nourishing food, Cumbrian beer and lots of talking. And a small devil cat who terrified Sylvie.

On Thursday, we went to Come Dine with Hope. Absolutely amazing four course meal in a country house hotel, cooked and served by the Y-team at Hope Support. Calum took a liking to the bottle of white wine, poured himself an enormous glass whilst we were engaged in deep conversation with other people on our table, and started taking great swigs of it and smacking his lips. We decided a drunken Cal wouldn’t be a good look, so we replaced it. He got very giggly.

 Hope’ve had all our monies from the Zumbathon, so they are very pleased with that.

And TKOE has had another £100 donation – thanks to Bob from London.

It’s the start of a new week isn’t it. Doing anything interesting?

Jo

 

Cake and ale

Okay, okay. I didn’t actually make a cake. I went into the kitchen intending to. But then I saw the piece of salmon we were going to have for tea, so I looked in a recipe book to decide what to do with that, and ended up making home made flaky pastry which was very, very therapeutic and tasty as well. And Cal had some biscuits to make. So that set us up nicely on Sunday evening. And then Monday and Tuesday have been spent going on long walks, pub lunches, seeing Amy who is up from London and generally getting ourselves back together again. Thanks for keeping our spirits up and  reminding us to take one day at a time, too. Sometimes it’s easy to forget.

Here’s the list of fundraising things, as I know them. If you have other things planned, let us know. I’m not quite up to setting up another page at the moment, but I’ll do that or something similar, so we can all see what’s going on, whenever we want to:

Rocks for Rosie – www.facebook.com/RocksforRosie

Mags Bags – being sold at Craft Fairs later this year

Music of the Night – Bacon Theatre, Cheltenham, 29th June. Tickets on sale soon.

Robins for Rosie/Hearts for Rosie – a Newent School venture

London to Paris cycle ride – Yay for Keri Jones for doing this. Will put up justgiving link separately

Short story competition – Kath of Three Bags Full wool shop is organising this. Details to follow.

Table top sales

Craft Fairs

North Gloucestershire Heads raffle – I don’t think you win a Headteacher in a raffle, but who knows.

Sponsored tattoos

Climbing Snowdon

Kentish Zumbathon

Selling OU books

Trudy’s plants

Race for Life (which counts – especially when you run all the way round, like Amy and Georgia are planning on)

Rosie’s poem

TKOE shop, which will have some new lines this year

And a load of other things which are being thought through at the moment.

What a team, eh?

 

5 months

It’s the five month anniversary today.

My horoscope said finish whatever you start today. But I haven’t.  Sylv and I have been gradually sorting out Rosie’s room. Sylv is going to move into it as it’s much bigger than hers (and Rosie said she could, when she left home). We are doing a bit every now and again. But today it all got a bit much when we got to the socks and the posters on the wall. So we stopped. It can wait.

I think I shall go an bake a cake.

Bye.

Jo

Brrrrr

So, 100% chance of cold/ice/snow tonight, this wintry February evening. What chance have I got of getting to Birmingham? At least both Cal and Sylv have a day off, so we don’t have to start the day glued to the radio to hear what is happening.

A couple of bits of news to warm the very cockles of your hearts though.

Firstly, big thank you to H.Art who have had a collection for TKOE. This means we now only have to raise £15,986. YAY!!

And secondly, a big thank you to Shailly at Worcestershire and Herefordshire Youth Offending Service who is going to subject himself to terrible indignities in the name of TKOE. We would like pictures please. And video.

What are heart cockles?

Jo

P.S I havn’t forgotten about putting up the list of fundraising that we know about – I just got interrupted by Cal’s falling over and didn’t finish it.

Calum fell over

One minute Cal was like this:

And then he fell over. He was okay though, but he didn’t get any marks. Which meant he didn’t do very well in his competition. It wasn’t his fault, he says.

And when we got home on Sunday, we appeared to have had some giant goose in the garden:

Quick update cos I have to go and get Cal from Youth Club – the TKOE shop is offlimits for a couple of days as it’s being upgraded. Don’t worry, it’ll be back shortly.

TKOE blood donations: 8

And article about Rosie – and you all –  here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16811290

Jo

We can’t keep up!

Video of Rosie tribute poem in production. A unique partnership between Tony Poet and Designer Mike.

Baby to be named after Rosie (if a girl baby) also in production

TKOE blood donations = 7. Which means only 23 to go to replenish the amount Rosie used

Only another £16041 to find. Thank you Michelle

Give yourselves all a relaxing, glinty Friday evening.

Jo