New years eve

So we went to see dinky's grandma on Saturday. We left the house at 8.45 got to London at 10.30 waited until 11.30 for dinky's grandma to pick us up and take her back to her friends house. Her friend was there. She seemed nice enough but I felt really uncomfortable in someone else's house. Dinky read her grandma a book and had some sweets then we went off to get dinky's grandad and auntie, so we could go for a meal. We went to the harvester. Dinky was actually quite well behaved. Maybe it was just the excitement of seeing the people she really missed. Or maybe she just can't behave herself for me.
We stayed in the harvester for 3 hours or so and then the grandmas friend popped in as we were about to leave and said she was going home having a cuppa and going to bed. So we left to go home at 4.30pm. I lugged the presents from the three of them back on the 2 trains and the bus back to ours and put dinky to bed.
So that was our day out.

My dad came up yesterday and gave me some money as part of my Christmas present to go out and buy some clothes. It just reminded me of being a kid. Most christmas' I got clothes while my brother and sister got the toys and whatever they wanted. I knew better than to ask for anything. I normally got colouring books off my nan and grandad along with trainers. And my aunts got me more clothes that my mother asked them to get me. So I ended up with my winter wardrobe, at the time I thought anything was better than wearing my sisters old clothes as she didn't exactly have the same sort of clothes I did. I was a Tom boy and my sister was the typical girly girl. So I could finally get rid of the skirts and stuff.
As I got older and people asked at school what I got for Christmas I lied and said I got cool stuff because I didn't want them to feel sorry for me. There is nothing worse than pity. The others, well I got bullied enough in my sisters cast off uniform there was no need to make it worse by saying that I got clothes and no cool toys or gadgets. At least for PE I always had nice trainers because my nan would take me trainer shopping the week before Christmas. It never made sense to my friends that I had the latest trainers but wore scruffy uniform. I was glad when my nan brought me some new uniform in September one year. My mother went mad but my nan was the only one who stood up to her, but only when she felt like it. When I was about 11 or 12 my nan brought me a Walkman. A proper Sony Walkman and ant and dec's ready to rumble on cassette tape. She gave it to me in front of my mother so she couldn't take it away. The rules were that my brother and sister were not to touch it. And it wasn't to be Aiken away as punishment or my nan would stop having us over when my mother was entertaining guests (basically when she got stoned or drunk or high or a combination of all three). The beating was well worth it. I got a couple of blank tapes and recorded from the radio. My nan was very strict but pretty fair. She wound my mother up something chronic and as I got older the more I enjoyed it. Instead of getting my brother and sister the latest toys and whatever my nan would buy them books. The books would just be laying there so I read them. I doubt it is true, but I always thought my nan knew I'd read them. I'd tell her about the books I read in school and birthdays and Christmas my brother or sister would get similar books to those I read or wanted to read. My brother got the Harry potter books one year. My brother hated reading and let me read them, I loved them! I still have them in my garage.
I wasn't exactly fond of my nan, I didn't realise until she left for egypt how much I would miss her. She was odd but I liked it, it was better than home. One summer she made me read her Anne mcCaffery books and do comprehension after and then when that was done she would get flour and water to make glue and I would have to make a collage depicting the scene that stood out for me. It felt like school, but it was a bonding exercise I just couldn't see how great it was at the time. Don't get me wrong I preferred that to being at home, but I was itching to get out and play for my allotted hour.

I don't know why my nan popped into my head.

Anyway, it's new years eve. This year has been a disaster! Hopefully 2013 will be much better. To be honest it can only get a little worse (only the lump results can put a bad spin on 2013)! But it will be dramatically better considering we will get housed in 2013. Our own home, I can't wait. I can't wait to decorate dinky's bedroom and for her to actually have space to play. It might make things better all round.