(Photo taken by Coralie who isn’t used to my camera, hence the blurring.)

Coralie kindly drove me to A&E yesterday and even waited with me. I was seen to pretty quickly and the xrays proved that ….. I’ve broken my foot somewhere just below my little toe which is why I am now in plaster for the first time in my life. I have to go back next week to see the foot doctor and see if I can have a plastic support for my foot which will make me far more mobile than I am now. I’m supposed to be lying down but I simply don’t have the patience to spend all day on my back unless otherwise occupied and have become quite good at going upstairs on my bum, and coming downstairs upright with the aid of a crutch and the banister.

This morning, after giving myself my anti-blood clot injection, I managed to have a sit-down shower with my legs dangling over the side of the bath – one of which was completely wrapped in a plastic bag. I’m so used to being independent that I get annoyed at the things that I can’t do – like carry a cup of tea into the living room, cook, go down to the cellar, etc. Hopefully, I’ll be more mobile next week, and the pain will have subsided somewhat.

I really must thank Coralie for her amazing patience in the hospital, on the way home when she stopped off at a pharmacy to get my crutches and even bringing me lunch before she shot off like a bat out of hell with her boyfriend. That was when I realised how much I needed a cup of tea as I was parched. I finally made one and put it into one of those cup flasks and slowly moved it along into the living room by poking it with a crutch. I’d just got to the sofa when it fell over and the top opened, spilling half the contents on the floor.

Disaster. I went back to get a mop before managing to sit down to drink the remains of the tea.

How I broke my foot is beyond me – I must have hit it against a stair – so I am much more careful now. I think I defy gravity as falling UP the stairs is quite an achievement.

Most people fall down them.

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The last christmas to be spent in this house was a quiet one. The week previous to it, I managed to fall up the stairs and sprain my ankle quite badly and so I spent the week hobbling around on a rather bruised foot. Come christmas day and I was knocking back painkillers like smarties, not that they helped much. Coralie stayed until the afternoon so we had a drink and something to nibble on before she left. We exchanged gifts, and quite frankly, Coralie is doing quite well for herself.

Tatiana and I then watched a couple of episodes of Desperate Housewives, a present from the girls, before Tatiana embarked on cooking the evening meal of lamb. I managed to prepare the entrée seeing as I could do it seated at the kitchen table, and we both both enjoyed the meal despite the fact that Tatiana almost burnt the spuds. We watched more TV before going to bed after what seemed to be a short day with very little company. Heavens knows where I’ll be next year, but it can’t get worse than this years’.

My dad had sent me a SAD lamp for christmas but due to the weather it hadn’t yet arrived – I could have done with a blast of light. Still, it was the first white christmas that I can remember – ever, although Tatiana had to push Coralie’s car as it was stuck deep in the snow. Even now, the roads are pretty bad, but thankfully, people appear to be driving very carefully, apart from Little Miss Giggles (Coralie) who drove over a pedestrian crossing today that had five people on it. Fortunately, they were no where near the car.

“Oooops,” she said, “I didn’t see them.”

I should have bought the girl glasses for driving – she misses sign-posts too.

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We’ve had our fair share of snow, amounting to about 10cms last Saturday until it started raining during the night and washed it all away. I haven’t seen so much of the white stuff fall in years and I really needed to get out last week so I did. During a snow blizzard. Dragging my granny trolley back from the shop was a bit of a nightmare and I ended up with a fucked back. I really should invest in some good gloves, too, as Tatiana lost my thick woollen ones last year.

Coralie has looked at her first apartment but apparently it was too expensive. At €700 per month, heating only included, I’m inclined to agree – especially as there was only one bedroom. And people wonder why I don’t want to rent – talk about throwing your money away. With whatever I get from the sale of this house – and I’m really hoping it will be slightly more than €100k as any less and I will end up living in the city and I have never lived in a city – I like trees and bees and things.

SAD hit me very early on this year and it’s getting worse so I am thinking of buying a SAD light. They look rather expensive so I will have to wait until I get a job which defeats the entire purpose of buying one as I’ll be old Miss Doom and Gloom in the corner of the office. These jobs are simply throwing themselves at me hard and fast – I can’t keep up. The temping job that I did last month had me sticking needles in my eyes as it was two solid days of listening to somebody talk into a dictaphone and then type up whatever he or she was saying. Fortunately we were fast and rather than stick it out for 4 days, we got it done in 2. Less money, but I felt less suicidal at the end, as well.

I also have an interview on Friday, although all the interviews I’ve been to so far have been far from fruitful, so no fingers need be crossed. If I get it, I get it.

Right, time for a cuppa and start emptying a cupboard.

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She says that she’ll be moving out next year, even though her boyfriend won’t yet be working. I think his parents will be helping out with the rent, but even so, my ancient two leather sofas and arm chair were going to the skip next week as I have bought a really cheap, excellently-made three-piece suite second-hand. I’ve had to have it re-covered, but it will be delivered next week and guess who wants my living room suite? Anything I replace or empty, such as wardrobes, are quickly snatched up by Coralie which she can have on the condition that she finds a storing place for them all. At least the wardrobes were IKEA flatpacks and should therefore be no problem.

Watching this slow transition of my daughter working her way up the ladder and into the land of grown-ups is sad but satisfying. I feel that I have brought her up well which is not something that I can say about Todd. He has got worse again and I am terrified when left alone with him. His insults have had me in tears on several occasions, and even though they are only words, they are a harsh comparison to the moments when he is sweetness and light. I am dreading the months when Tatiana goes to Madrid as I really can’t take much more.

I’ve got to the point where I’ve accepted a short (please let it only be two days) temping job in a lawyers office, typing from a dictaphone, something I really hate.

But it’ll be work, albeit for a short time.

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I was crap at school and hated studying. Coralie was good at school and college but hated studying and yet it’s paid off wonderfully. Until she decides what she actually wants to do with her degree, and I don’t mean bin it, she will be working full-time as an hotel receptionist.

As of tomorrow.

Yes. Coralie will be earning as of 10 September, 2010.

At the rate I’m going I can’t see myself doing much more than flipping burgers – and even then I think I have to speak Flemish as well.

So I’m an extremely proud mother, yet sad to see the first child ready to leave home.

On the plus side, while she’s still here, how much should she pay me?;)

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And so my partner and I had four names ready and after a lot of huffing and puffing and three hard pushes, I gave birth to a girl who was called Coralie. I loved holding my newborn child so much that my gynaecologist had to remind me that I still had another baby inside me so could I hand Coralie over to her father and get pushing again?

With one single push I gave birth to another girl – Tatiana. Both of my babies were covered in mucus and looked pretty revolting in all honesty, but they were mine, had been a part of me for nine months so naturally I thought they were beautiful.

And all this happened 21 years ago.

Happy birthday, Coralie and Tatiana!

xxx

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Coralie applied at a hotel for a summer job as a receptionist and they not only gave her a summer job, but a full contract which only goes to show how valid a stage is when studying for a degree. Not only does she have the experience, but she also speaks four languages. However, as Coralie failed a few exams earlier this year she will have to re-take them at the end of August and so will need that month to study. She told the hotel this and they said that it was of no problem whatsoever and that they would employ her for July and if she passes her exams Coralie is very welcome to go back as a full-time employee.

Am I peeved? Well, a bit.

But I’m dead proud of Coralie.

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So far, nada

Going to Tenerife is a good thing for Coralie, but I did think that we’d be able to communicate somehow. I wonder how many hours a day she’s working – maybe she’ll surprise me by sending me a postcard, although that really isn’t her style. We’ll see.

I do hope everybody is voting for the blogs that I mentioned further below in this year’s Bloggies and if you don’t, then I shall have no other option than to put up a photo of me squeezed into my SLN (Sexy Little Number), a sight that you really don’t want to see unless you get kicks out of white velcro, white plastic and bright yellow foam.

That was a threat, in case you didn’t get it.

And as I am a lady of intolerable leisure I have decided to go out today. I’m taking Tatiana out for lunch. Hell, it took me 2 months to save up for this and Tatiana is great company.

Those sandwiches had damn well better be good.

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Her boyfriend is visiting her in March and I mentioned that that would be a good time to visit Morocco because if she doesn’t go there while so close she’ll kick herself forever afterwards.

“But why can’t I go on my own?”

I looked at her boyfriend who told her sweet things about attractive, single women visiting Morocco from abroad that end rather unhappily. Did I mention that Coralie is studying tourism? The idiot.

However, I got plenty of hugs before my daughter left to pack and then go to her farewell party, as well as promises of keeping in touch which will definitely test her communication skills with the rest of the family.

Coralie is on her way to the airport now and I hope that she has a good time. I miss her already but she’ll be home sooner than I expect.

I’m off in search of comfort food now.

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Coralie’s plane is at 1pm.  Neither her father nor her mother are allowed at the airport (Charleroi), and she insists that her sister, Tatiana, drives her there along with Coralie’s boyfriend, her best friend and someone else.  My first-born (of the twins) is about to start leaving the nest, and that saddens me greatly,  far more so than I thought it would.  Four months is nothing.  I’ll be glad to have the house back without her nicking our clothes, my hair-dryer, make-up remover, etc.

And yet I will be sad to see her go, and it will no doubt affect her sister even more so.  I wonder what she will be like when she returns, apart from shockingly tanned.

Oh hell, it’s not as if she’s off for a sex-change.

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“It’s not make-up, Mum, it’s a black eye.”
“A black eye? How?”

It took a while to get any sense out of her but finally she told me ‘her’ version of the truth.

Now she may be on the smaller side of the scale, but would you believe your daughter if she gave you this answer?

“I walked into a chair.”

Her boyfriend looked at me and raised his eyebrows, while I was trying to visualise a chair high enough for Coralie to walk into.

Nope. I still don’t buy her story.

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