We're barmy but I love it!

My family is totally bonkers, I mean embarrassingly so. Enter my final main cast members; Mum and Dad. I truly believe if you are going to follow this blog and understand my quirky, slightly odd ways then I must introduce my parents. My Mum is many things; kind, caring, nurturing, supportive, and a clean freak. However, she is not just any old clean freak, let me explain. My family and I took our lovely golden retriever Toffee for a walk along the seafront promenade one wintery afternoon, when all of sudden our dear boy decides its toilet time. He does a big poop on the pavement next to the road, and my mum politely uses her plastic bag as a pooper scooper (totally normal up to this point), however, in full view of many afternoon strollers, she whips out a bottle of Evian and rapidly squirts water all over the remaining poop stains, dispersing it around the pavement. Following this she takes out some kitchen roll and proceeds to wipe said pavement until its brand spanking new. If you know anyone else who actually voluntarily wipes down public pavements do let me know...

To put it bluntly, my Dad is embarrassing. Here are some of his random acts of barmyness.

* He likes to fart in the lift just as he is getting out so the next person gets a nice treat...he thinks this is hilarious.

* He is so obsessed with his camera(s) that when we got to restaurants he asks the waiter to bring a chair just for his camera, oh and his 'man' bag.

* He would rather sit on a hot poker than go to a party and make small talk-at a recent dinner party he declared to a table full of new acquaintances and potential friends, that he "doesn't like people very much". Suffice to say my Mum has banned him from all voluntary social interaction where she is present. She still lets him go to the shops though.

* He is a creature of habit, so much so, that he ate in one Chinese restaurant so often, they presented him with chopsticks with an engraving of his name.

* He will go to restaurants and order a big piece of cake after a meal but the asks for no ice cream because he thinks it would make the dessert too fattening....

* He can't dress himself. My mum has to lay his clothes out on the bed for him. You would never think he has a Phd or runs major transport projects.

This pic just about sums my Dad up:

On a more serious note, my parents are my backbone. I speak to them everyday, sometimes several times a day and I never make a decision without them. We are extremely close and they are my best friends. I think a big part of our relationship is down to the fact that we were our own little nomadic herd. We moved to 5 different countries throughout my upbringing and let me tell you, it is hugely challenging both physically and mentally to uproot your life and start all over. But we did it, many times and I wouldn't change it for the world. It has made my family stronger and ultimately closer. As a child and young adolescent I didn't have many friends at school (enter violin strings here). To be honest, now don't laugh here, I used to go to the library on my own every lunch time, and you could often find me in a corner reading a copy of "What's Happening to my Body Book for Girls" (I started puberty pretty early, not that you needed to do know that). As a result, I became extremely close to my parents and spent all my time with them, which I still do. My husband and I may be in our twenties but we still frequently go on holidays with my parents and see them whenever we have a break. Never underestimate the importance of spending time with your parents, you will be grateful later on.

My parents have been married for 36 barmy years and here is a portrait I took of them my SLR on a visit to Monaco at Christmas (please note my Dad's super camera: the Leica M8). I have also included a beautiful poem my Dad wrote for my Mum. I love them so very dearly.

Janice and I, married for 36 years,

Lots of laughter and a few tears,

Dominique and Doggies, at the centre,

So far it’s been quite an adventure.

Dominique our beautiful daughter,

Has kept us busy until the altar,

Now married, we’re busier than ever,

But for sure we would never change her.

Red, Patch and Brandy, those beloved babies,

Jan would do anything for those ladies,

Our new boy Toffee has joined our clan,

Keeping Jan on her toes, not quite the plan.

Jan has been the foundation stone for us all,

Through everything she has stood proud and tall,

An incredible strength that’s deep inside,

There’s nothing that breaks her from her stride.

All we’ve achieved can be traced to her,

All that happens, to Jan we must confer,

Telephone calls that number in millions,

Before we’re done it will be in trillions.

Jan is our constant guide and inspiration,

A woman of such infinite compassion,

I struck big and lucky, when I wed Jan,

I am a truly blessed and lucky man.

I love my Jan with all my heart,

Two souls that can never be apart,

Time and space may so often divide,

But our Love keeps us always entwined.

So many adventures still before us,

Blogs and grandchildren in full chorus,

Together we will enjoy all that waits,

With Dominique and Samuel and the fates.

Thanks Jan for never ever wavering,

For all that love and untold caring,

You are a shining and radiant Star,

Thanks to you we are all we are.

I hope you feel like you know my cast members a bit better. And now onto something delicious. This is a great recipe for butternut squash and it comes from Jamie Oliver's classic "The Naked Chef". It's always handy to have tricks for making vegetables more tasty and this recipe is so versatile. It's great with roast dinners or even the chilli con carne recipe in the post below. If you are blessed with an enormous butternut then please do honour it and double up on the spices. If you want to be really frugal you can save the seeds and toast them; apparently they help men keep an erection.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Spices

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/spicy-roasted-squash

Well that's all for today. Coming soon-my Peeves and Pleasures of the week and much more.

If you have a barmy family member or recipe you would like to share, get in touch. Please do leave a comment, thats if you got this far.

xx