Wassail

It's been a long time since I felt like writing anything here. Not for me the wondrous Art Deco glass, juke boxes, pin-ball machines, meat loaf, really powerful showers and being in at the birth that Chillside talks of with such relish. Nothing to inspire craft-work or word-spinning for me.

There was a very pleasant ten day interlude travelling to Cornwall to see the new grandson who is highly satisfactory, the terrible-twos toddler who is highly entertaining, and the woolly dog who doesn't make me sneeze (one of the fashionable poodle crosses that Obama missed) but then came the return into a nightmare situation with Number One Grandson which had to be resolved, at least on a physical level, with a solicitor's letter delivered by sheriff's officers.

I may not have needed valium to fly but I reached for it a few days in to this episode; it is just so upsetting, enraging and ultimately depressing that someone can mess up a child's life so utterly selfishly. The story will run and run but at least Sandy seems to be standing up to his dad a bit and is behaving like a child again.

For the first couple of weeks since I got back the shop has hardly been open; I just couldn't face making small-talk and answering the usual queries. Now it's open a bit more consistantly with a sign on the door to say that it's closing at Christmas I'm having to field a constant barrage of 'Oh what a shame. What are you going to do with yourself? What are you going to do with the shop?' and etc. I'm still not in a mood for chit chat so they get rather short shrift. Many are clearly hoping for a clearance sale and look very dissapointed when I say I will be selling on line.

There was a point when Christmas wasn't going to happen for this family this year but once we had the lad back things gradually picked up and now I'm swept into the usual reckless money-spending round, made rather worse because Sandy has chosen to go to the Cornish family for the holiday (I think he imagines himeself windsurfing... some hopes as it's winter and Costa has to work) Their Christmas will include their own children and two other infants, plus three more adults. As they are all being very good to accept Sandy into their celebrations I want to show my gratitude by sending presents. The idea is nice the actuality less nice. I panic at these times and end up buying far too much and probably all the wrong stuff. I could open another shop with scented candles, Demon cards (like angel cards only more amusing I hope) bath salts, Yogi teas, fudge, angel mobiles, toy trains, rocket gizmos that will probably take someone's eye out, miniture bottles of booze, finger puppets, a little pink crocheted hat with a green stalk on top, a set of metal tubes to mke music with, photo frames, jigsaw maps of the world, silk bead necklaces, more candles..... now all I've got to do is wrap them all and post them. I'm planning not to put names on the adultish things so they can lucky dip them and swop as they feel moved.

Urrgh.