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In a bun dance

If I'm going to get something, I usually get it in spades - luck (both kinds), children, clutter, dirty laundry, bright ideas, daft ideas...

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Decking the halls and looking for my fa-la-la-la laa

December 3, 2025 By Ellen 3 Comments

Edit: I wrote this 15 (!) years ago. The boys are much bigger but much of the feeling is the same. I don’t mean to be a humbug but December brings me out in panic attacks. Maybe I’m allergic to Slade. For me Christmas is wonderful, but only in sort of snapshots. I love the […]

Filed Under: Christmas

How To Transform A Dim Room Into A Bright Welcoming Space

December 3, 2025 By Ellen Leave a Comment

CC0 Licensed Image Courtesy of Freepik You can transform a dim room into something bright and airy with some simple changes that won’t break the bank. Just one will help a home feel brighter, but together you have something much more welcoming. From mirrors to open space, here are some handy suggestions. The Power of […]

Filed Under: other things I have learned, review Tagged With: home, ideas, interiors

How Santa is destroying Christmas for our kids…

November 19, 2025 By Ellen 4 Comments

I dithered about allowing Boy Three to go to his after school club’s Christmas Party – and here’s why… Claus for concern pic: Kevin Dooley via Flickr It’s supposed to be magical. Children waiting for the kindly, bearded chap to deliver their heart’s desire into an old sock on Christmas Eve. Then they ooh and […]

Filed Under: Christmas, family, Father Christmas, grottoes, ho ho ho, Humbug, Santa Tagged With: boys, children, Christmas, family, festive, hohoho, humbug, in my life, in the world, Santa, something happened in my world

Choosing Between Refurbishing or Buying New Dining Chairs

November 19, 2025 By Ellen Leave a Comment

Dining chairs are a huge component of your home interior design, serving both as practical needs and visual focal points. When you are upgrading or updating your dining area, the decision between refurbishing the old chairs or purchasing new ones often presents itself as a challenging one. Both options have unique benefits that depend on […]

Filed Under: other things I have learned, review Tagged With: dining chairs, home, interiors, refurbishment

The problem with mindful eating

September 23, 2025 By Ellen

Slow, deliberate mouthfuls, savouring every crumb, only giving your body exactly what it needs and not a dribble more. Great. A wonderful theory – in fact more than a theory. Mindful eating really works, when done, erm, mindfully. If you pay attention to what your body is telling you, you eat better food and fewer […]

Filed Under: family, other things I have learned Tagged With: children, food, Glasgow, health, humour, hunger, mindful eating, mindfulness, Something happened in my life

It started as an ordinary afternoon

September 4, 2025 By Ellen

It was the middle of a very slow afternoon when she lined up the pens with the top of her keyboard and pushed back from the desk. Traffic flowed by the eight-storey glass and chrome office building. Lorries, bike couriers and pedestrians moving on, not stopping. Inside colleagues murmured, typed and sneaked glances at the […]

Filed Under: Creative Writing, other things I have learned Tagged With: falling, fiction, in the world, My Life, on my mind

How Restaurants Could Cater Better For Neurodivergent Children, According To Parents

September 2, 2025 By Ellen

For many of us, eating out at a restaurant is a treat that saves us on the dishes and helps us to socialize. But, for families with neurodivergent children, even quick meals out are often far from joyful. And it’s hardly surprising when you consider that, unique dietary requirements alone, children who are prone to […]

Filed Under: review Tagged With: Autism, family, neurodiverse, parenting

sticks and stones

August 21, 2025 By Ellen

I knew it was time for the holidays to end because the insults were getting more and more inventive as the children and I got more and more crabby. Son One wins the prize with his “big fool-headed dodo” while Son Two, the object of his invective, has developed an especially irritating Picachu impression. The […]

Filed Under: Is it me?

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