Although I’ve written about her obsession with knitting underwear for our dolls, I don’t think I’ve ever written about my Grandma Ida’s collection of handbags and matching hats. I’ll do this now. The hats were not an extravagant fancy, for all Ida’s purchases came from ‘thrift shops’; she was probably the founding mother of all…
Author: thedragonflyjar
I'm a sixty something working, single woman, navigating through all the challenges and opportunities of life - hopefully with a little irreverent humour and grace.
No help
I’m feeling rebuffed after repeatedly having my offers of help turned down. It’s proving challenging being a Good Samaritan in a world not necessarily wanting help. I may have to start tactically avoiding situations where medical assistance is needed – let’s just hope Brown Owl doesn’t track me down to reclaim my Community Action or…
Cosy
On my dragonfly journey I am definitely learning to savour the best moments in life; one of these moments arrives this week when a special friend gifts me a crocheted cosy for my chocolate orange (I know, me neither!). This gift (see photo) delights me on so many fronts: I LOVE chocolate oranges – as…
Comfortably uncomfortable
My week has comprised a conference for sports and business leaders, a Year 13 Parent Evening and a 20 mile road race, so I feel justified when I congratulate myself on pushing my dragonfly boundaries into the comfortably uncomfortable. It’s not all positive though; so varied was each event that the aftermath has been nocturnal…
Rage against the machine
In a week full of drama, my family’s main concern has been the death of my 92 year old mother’s coffee machine. It is perhaps no surprise that it has given up producing copious Americanos, Expressos and Lattes for her many visiting friends – afterall, she has worked it into an early grave through industrious…
In-vesting
Spot me walking up stairs these days, and you’ll know that I’m in the long grass of marathon training. I creak noisily, find myself eying my mother’s stairlift greedily, and have downloaded an app to show where the escalators, travelators and lifts are in public buildings. I think I may be turning into a Dalek…
Kin-balling
I approached half term feeling over-tired and snarky. My friends and colleagues (most of them) are too nice to point this out (those who insisted, know who they are), but I was beginning to irritate myself with my self-inflicted pity party. You’d think by now I’d have something in my armoury to pull out when…
A good influence
Completing my last morning school gate duty before half term, I am clearly invisible to a large group of students huddled by the bus stop. Heads down, they stand in furtive silence, taking one last drag on their mobile phones before the bell signals that phones will need packing away for the school day. Taking…
A new yarn
I love it when people you know well still have the ability to surprise you. Having recovered from the discovery of my sister’s gambling, this week I get an early morning text and accompanying photo from a friend on her daily commute; ‘when you’re stuck on a very slow bus to work, thank goodness for…
The white stuff
Funny old week. To continue the betting theme, it turns out that I’m just as bad at predicting the weather odds as I am picking a winner at Cheltenham Races. One amber weather forecast from The Met wanging* on about the The Beast from the East II and everyone goes into meltdown. Most things get…
The Dragonfly Jar 