It was only a matter of time but yes, Miss Arabella now has her driver’s licence. She was eligible to hit the roads some 18 months ago but just like Alfie’s belated birthday party, somehow there was just a lot of inertia about actually sitting the test. About a year ago she asked me to […]
Dairy-Free Creamy Pasta and…Leftovers
May 15, 2013 By 52 Comments
The day after the launch of Lorraine’s book was Carl’s birthday. To celebrate, I organised a family dinner at a restaurant we have been to quite a few times and I have previously let you all know about. We like it because it’s casual, great for children, is BYO and inexpensive. Later that day, Arabella […]
The Tenant and Creamy, Dairy-Free Pasta
October 24, 2012 By 40 Comments
A few years ago Carl and I had a business where we worked out of a studio above a one bedroom apartment on a large block of land that had distant water views. When Carl would disappear on appointments leaving me ‘home alone’ I used to take a few breaks from my desk and wander […]
Mushroom and Walnut Pasta and Time Squeezed
September 19, 2012 By 40 Comments
As you all know and have all been totally supportive, I’m time-starved this week but haven’t completely fallen in a heap and resorted to dialing up nightly takeaway, but I am looking for fast-food, that is, food I can quickly bring to the table. Recently I discovered a great food blog from New Zealand called […]
Angel’s Hair Pasta and A Brief Career
August 2, 2012 By 67 Comments
Many years ago before I bred the teenagers I had a job in the city working for a solicitor. Being childless I had a lot more time to myself and I filled this by hosting dinner parties where I tried out all the recipes I had seen in the latest Vogue Entertaining magazine. Every Monday […]
Chorizo Ragu and ‘You’re Still the Best’
July 17, 2012 By 61 Comments
We had a magical visitor in the night. Of the fairy kind. At school Alfie pulled out a wobbly tooth and when I went to collect him he ran to me, lisping the news. ‘Mum, my tooth came out. I pulled it out. It was wobbling so much I just pulled it and out it […]
Alfie’s Day of Neglect
June 9, 2012 By 54 Comments
With Arabella turning my week into drama-central somehow I kind of forgot I have a third child. And he’s only seven. And by law he’s not allowed to bring himself up, he’s supposed to be supervised, parented even. After the night where following my dinner I had to eat a Middle Eastern three-course meal of […]
The Full-Time Mother
June 6, 2012 By 32 Comments
I’m not getting anything done. And it’s entirely because of Arabella. She’s not at school so she wanders around the house looking for me. There’s not a minute’s peace. I was typing an email to my sister this morning (very important epistle) and she came in with wet hair and said she was going off […]
Tomato and Basil Pasta and…The Break-Up
May 16, 2012 By 46 Comments
I always said that when it happens, I would like to be on the other side of the world. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t even around the corner. I was here with Arabella as her world fell apart. It’s over with the boyfriend, the one who’s been visiting us since she was 11. Now there […]
Sausage and Mushroom Pasta and…The Long Way There
May 11, 2012 By 43 Comments
I walk my seven-year old son to school. It’s a 10-minute walk therefore, according to logic and reason, if we leave the house 10 minutes before the bell rings, Alfie will be at school on time. But thinking logically is not always sensible. Alfie is always late. And it’s not because we cut it too […]
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