Playing catch-up

I seem to have forgotten about this blog over the past week or so. I can't claim to have been so hideously busy that I haven't had time nor has the week been so boring that there is nothing to write about. I suspect I am just a bit lazy sometimes. Sorry about that.

So, what have I been up to? Well last Thursday Husband and I went through to Glasgow (passports at the ready!) to see Focus in concert. We enjoyed the experience so much last time that when Shauna kindly told us they were playing again we booked tickets immediately. And because we are middle aged and not proud, we booked tickets that included dinner beforehand, thus guaranteeing ourselves full stomachs and a seat for the gig. You know you're getting old when your first thought when you hear about a concert is wondering whether you will be able to stand on your own two feet for the duration.

The concert was fantastic. Even more fantastic was the fact that Focus were finishing off their soundcheck as we ate. Husband is a musician and the ability to eat pakora while watching one of his favourite bands fiddle with the equipment was his idea of heaven. When Thijs Van Leer, the legendary organist/flute player/yodeller wandered over to our table afterwards, Husband was able to collar him and chat about the pros and cons of hardware over software sequencers (at least I think that's what they were saying. I sort of glaze over at the first mention of this sort of stuff) and then Husband died of happiness.

And then AND THEN I got to meet Shauna. And Gareth. I spotted them across the room and whilst I could easily recognise Shauna (what with her being a celebrity and all) I knew she wouldn't have a clue what I looked like. I could have leaned over the balcony where I was sitting and waved like a loon but that ran the risk of being ejected by security for interrupting the music whilst Shauna hid in the corner and denied all knowledge of me. I slightly regretted not bringing my copy of her book and waving that at her, but maybe people do that to her all the time. (I'm actually sorry I didn't take the book and get her and Gareth to sign it - my children would have been so impressed that I had met a genuine superhero!)

What else? The weekend was a mad dash of buying stuff and packing stuff and sewing in name labels (Oh my goodness, do I hate name labels) in preparation for First Born going off to school camp. He left on Monday and is still there. We have been a one child family this week, and what's more it's been the quiet one. The house is eerily tranquil.

On Monday Husband went off to London for a couple of days so on Monday evening Second Born and I were on our own. We therefore hit the town for a mother and son night out. First stop was Pizza Hut. I know, I know, SB's choice, but it was worth it to see the scorching, withering glare that SB directed at the waitress when she suggested he might want a child-sized pizza. She clearly did not know who she was dealing with. That look conveyed deep scorn coupled with "Bring me a pizza the size of a dustbin lid and be quick about it."

We followed the pizza with a stop at Luca's for ice cream - with chocolate sauce and marshmallows for SB, and with bananas, butterscotch and meringue for me. All low-cal and fat-free naturally.

It was a lovely evening and a treat to be able to spend one on one time with the quieter half of the Gruesome Twosome. But the bigger, louder one is due home tomorrow. He will have laundry filthy enought to make a grown woman weep, the noise level will immediately treble, he will be fighting with SB before they even get in the car to come home and I can't wait.