So my mate Tara, who writes the excellent Sticky Fingers blog, recently talked about the 7 signs that show you have a teenage boy in the house. It made me realise how much things change when… Read More

I spend quite a lot of time on my own. Sometimes I feel like a saddo - not really going out for days and quite enjoying it. These days, with the sciatic nerve thing going on, it's a bit more… Read More

Changing topics completely - or not. It may be that my back pain is causing a slight shortness of temper but it has served me well in the past few days when it looked like I was getting ripp… Read More

So the back saga continues. After the MRI a few days ago, the orthopedic doctor could see that there's some herniation between my lowest two vertebrae which is irritating the sciatic nerve a… Read More

It turns out that I have another condition or syndrome to go with my recently discovered Misophonia. This one hasn't been given a name yet, but scientists have discovered that many people wh… Read More

So I'm not the most technical person. My I-phone has very few purchased Apps and possibly the smallest collection of music known to Apple. It's not synched with anything (that I know of) and… Read More

Instead of complaining about what is going on in my house at the moment, I'm going to look on the brighter side and see it as a very close shave. Like every jet set family (not), the 12… Read More

It's long been a bete noir of mine - people wearing pyjamas outside the house. I know they're comfy but really people - they're for bed. Anyway, it seems one head teacher (principal) in… Read More

Like many of us in the New Year, I'm going a bit bonkers - getting rid of stuff we don't need, have never used or just don't like. Books are going to the used book sale at school despite the… Read More

I've had minor back problems for a number of years now and I finally went to an orthopedic doctor in November. He took an x-ray and found that my lowest two vertebrae are quite close togethe… Read More

As you know, David Bowie died earlier this week, after an 18 month and fairly secret, battle with cancer. I found out when I opened one eye, checked my phone and read my daughter's text. It… Read More

So we had our first Santa-less Xmas in 22 years last month. I probably should be a little more tearful or nostalgic but quite frankly, the whole thing can be pretty exhausting. Especially wh… Read More

So if any of you have ever read tales from Ski trips past, you'll know that I spoke too soon in my last post. Of course we had problems and drama, although not quite as epic as some years. (… Read More

Hello you lovelies. I'm writing this on Christmas Eve, high up in the Rocky Mountains. If you care to read past blogs about our annual skiing trips, (just search Copper Mountain) you'll know… Read More

I'm quite often told by American friends that everything I say sounds intelligent. (It's true.) Not that everything I say is a pearl of wisdom, you understand, but they think my British (or… Read More

I just have to share this blog with you in case you are living your life without it. Northern Snippet is written by a restaranteur in a small, but touristy part of northern England. As you c… Read More

A post by my mate Lulu over at A Family Affair made me wonder if I"m the only one who does what I do. Lulu is talking about pretending you're not at home when someone calls at the house… Read More

So yes, as I said in the previous post, I'm a bit up to my neck, as usual at this time of year. And, unless you've been living under a rock, you'll also appreciate that my head is exploding… Read More

Sorry for complete and utter lack of posting. (Note to self - try and refrain from so much volunteering).In the meantime I want to share this with you, 'cause these grandmas are bloody hilar… Read More

If you're a) not American and b) have been paying close attention over the years of reading this blog, you'll know that "the Holidays" in the USA doesn't mean packing your swimming cossie an… Read More

Anyone with teens will know that texting them is a veritable minefield. I mean, with the abbreviations and the emoticons (now called emojis and pronounced emo-geez), it's a whole different l… Read More

So in the last post I was talking about the circus that is the Republican slate of candidates for the Presidency. Not sure how many we are now down to but it's over a dozen and there's no ro… Read More

So, in case you're currently under a rock, there's an election going on in the USA. Actually, the election isn't till next November, but to watch the news, you'd think it was next week. Apar… Read More

Well, despite me living here for twenty five years I'm still having language problems.The other morning I was doing my usual chivvying-of-the-12 year old, when he realized with some horror… Read More

Was going to blog about nothing in particular (having been a bit lax of late) and then saw that my friend Julie Summers (no relation) had written a great post about her involvement with the… Read More

Well, not every day, but I'm talking about a funny blog you might have come across called People I Want to Punch in the Throat.  It's written my American mom Jen Mann, and as you m… Read More

Over at Expat Focus, I'm talking about ignoring sensible travel advice. When you're traveling with kids, all the old rules are meaningless Read More

I happened to mention on Facebook that, in my opinion, life's just too short for lace knitting, and a friend suggested I make a blog post out of it. (Always on the lookout for blog fodder.)J… Read More

Over at my BBC America gig, I'm taking a look at the changes made when a TV series or a movie crosses the Atlantic. We have just got "Home Fires" here, but did you know that it's based on th… Read More

So a bunch of us old fart, old school bloggers have reunited on Facebook and have a little group going. The membership criterion is that you have to have been blogging since 2010 and therefo… Read More

Ok, there's obviously more to that than meets the eye. For those living outside the USA, don't complain about your politicians until you've taken a look at what's going on here. In case… Read More

So, I have just come back from a glorious girlie weekend in Sonoma, California. It's wine country up there; it looked a lot like Italy, and just as hot.Of course, this is my life, so it was… Read More

So\ last week I took a three day trip to DC last week to help college grad move into her new flat.Oh yes, that was a trip. It's a two hour flight and National airport in DC is very close to… Read More

I read this article today about all the things that morning people do better than me. It's all backed up by scientific data apparently so these people now have a solid reason to be smug. (I… Read More

Yes, I know this is a bit of a double standard, a tad hypocritical even . In the previous post I said I was making a determined effort to stop going off about minuscule things that really do… Read More

There's an awful lot of "outrage", "disgust" and general ranting on social media these days. I'm often part of that, commenting on this and that article, giving my views and "respectfully di… Read More

I'm sorry - I just had to blog about this new phrase du jour - consciously uncoupling.For those of you who don't read the sleaze tabloids or follow Gywenth Paltrow's blog (which I don't), yo… Read More