Boxed in

One of the things that I tend to grumble about when out and about on the roads is drivers who stop in box junctions. It drives me mad. So as you can imagine, I was quite shocked when a penalty charge notice arrived in the post complete with photos showing my car stopped inside a box junction. Even worse, I don’t remember doing it (clearly I was on auto-pilot at that moment). As a result of this, I’m now £60 worse off and suddenly have become a lot less vociferous in my condemnation of other drivers stopping in box junctions!

My mum's birthday

Spending time with my family is so important to me, and it is frustrating sometimes not being able to go home and see them as often as I would like to. Today, however, I managed to spend some time at home seeing my family as it was my mum’s (and her twin sister’s) birthday. I got to see three of my sisters, one brother, four nieces and two nephews (always difficult trying to fit as many family members in as possible on brief visits) plus also managed to catch up with an old school friend – not bad for one day!

Oh, what a beautiful mornin'

Early morning is one of the most beautiful times of the day, particularly on mornings like today when the kitchen is bathed in sunshine (making me feel awake and alive even before my morning cup of tea!) I rarely have the time or energy to appreciate how lovely an early morning can be, but this morning I’ve had time to sit and be still and just appreciate the wonders of God’s creation – the daffodils outside, the birds singing… sheer bliss. After an emotionally charged couple of days, it is a joy just to feel at peace with the world again.

Through a child's eyes...

I attended a lovely home birth of a previous client recently and a few minutes after the baby was born, the older children (including the little boy I’d welcomed into the world two years earlier) all came into the room to meet their new sister, which was a magical moment to see. The little one was particularly fascinated by seeing the cord (placenta having not separated at this point) – “Mummy, there’s a worm!” I’d never thought of it in that way, being seeing it through a two year old’s eyes, I guess it does look a bit like a worm!

Being a twin

I was listening to a discussion on the radio about twins and whether they are generally closer than other siblings. Obviously that depends on the twins themselves, but I love being a twin, and have a bond with my twin sister that I just don’t have with my other siblings, much as I love them all. Being a twin means having a ready-made best friend from birth, having someone to share the highs and lows of growing up. I love sharing birthdays and always try to make sure we can celebrate together – particularly this year as we’ll both be 30.

Avoiding March madness

When Michael and I first got engaged, one of the wedding dates we considered was at the end of March, but we decided that booking our wedding for the week after a show was a bit mad. Whilst I have no doubt that I could have organised a wedding in four months, I’m now quite glad that I didn’t try. Things are busy enough with adjusting to my new job and preparing for the show – I think if I’d had to think about last minute preparations for a wedding as well, I would have been incredibly stressed at the moment.

Technical hitches

The opening night of Oklahoma! is in exactly two weeks’ time and there has been a slight technical hitch. Our lighting designer has suddenly had to pull out of the show due to unforeseen circumstances and so the search is now on for a new lighting designer who can step in at fairly short notice. Fortunately, there seem to be a few potential options available so it isn’t a complete disaster – or at least not yet! Fingers crossed that we will manage to find someone quickly, particularly as there are only two rehearsals left before we get into the theatre.

Cinderfellas

Conversations during the pub quiz often tend to be fairly random but tonight’s was particularly bizarre. There I was at the end of the quiz, sitting at a table with three men and the conversation turned to “Which Disney princess are you?” Keith was Cinderella, Bryan was Pocahontas and Michael was wavering between Ariel and Belle, but eventually decided upon Belle. Having never really thought about my fiancé in Disney princess terms, I’m now not sure whether I should be amused, or concerned. At least our size difference means there’s no danger of suddenly finding him trying on my clothes!

A taste of spring

I love days like today. Days like today make me feel that the winter is almost over and spring is nearly here. The sun has been shining and I even managed to put some washing out on the line (funny how such a small thing can make me happy!) I’m still waiting for the daffodil and snowdrop bulbs I planted in the back garden at the end of the summer to start flowering, but there are some very pretty daffodils in the front garden already. Amazingly half of the plants on the balcony have also managed to survive the winter.

Honeymoon

Wedding plans are coming along nicely. We booked the flights and hotels for our honeymoon yesterday. We will be spending a week in Switzerland starting in Geneva and then travelling around to finish in Zurich. We’re planning a trip to the chocolate factory and a scenic train journey through the mountains, but have not made any other plans – it will be nice just to do things on the spur of the moment. Neither of us has been to Switzerland before – it is somewhere that I’ve wanted to go to for a long time and I’m really looking forward to it.