We have a problem. Please be patient.

Dear Reader

I haven't mentioned this before, largely I think, because I'm in denial.

Tomorrow the packers come. They will wrap up our worldly possessions - including my trusty desktop - load them into a container, ship the container to Nairobi via Mombasa. Once in Nairobi our container will be opened and our goods will pass through a customs process which seems to be a bit, um, fluid. We will be leaving Scotland in early September. And then we'll all be happily reconciled at the other end. At least that's the plan.

It is possible that we will emerge from this process a little lighter in wallet and, indeed, in load. But that we will survive. The far greater question is how I will survive the next +- 6 weeks without Skype, email or (sob!) Blogger?

So dear online friends, I apologise for not being able to visit your blogs or publish posts of our final adventures in Scotland over the next several weeks. I will miss this part of my day more than you know.

See you in October.

The Good Woman

PS Any suggestions as to a new name for this blog are welcome!

Outfoxed...

Bambi: For my birthday I want Iggle Piggle, a Dora computer, a house, my Grannies, a cake, candles, a party, a bicycle. And a swimming pool.

Me [clearly not engaging brain]: That's funny Sweetie. Last week you just wanted a pony.

Bambi: Well, okay...I'll have a pony then...

And you wonder why we're moving!

Award from A Broad - 5 August 2007

In the past week I have:

• Cleaned a house. Properly. Furniture has been moved. Dado rails sparkle. The oven even looks rather impressive - on the inside.
• Delivered a full, large car load of clothes, toys and books to Salvation Army.
• Delivered another full, large car load of junk to the recycling centre.
• Cut back my garden and thanked the good Lord that some neighbours had hired a skip that day which they were struggling to fill. Good neighbour that I am, I was able to help.
• Collected boxes from our removal company which is in a Clydebank industrial estate - a drive which took around 45 minutes each way.
• Got Bambi's glasses fixed (again).
• Gone to the Richard Long exhibition in Edinburgh. (Stunning in its simplicity and beauty. Why couldn't I have thought of creating giant mud murals first!?)
• Gone back to Edinburgh for the first day of the festival. Bambi particularly enjoyed the street performers and the Warhol exhibition.
• Written a piece about the Warhol exhibition for Topblogmag (out on Monday).

And slept. And eaten. And swum 5 kms. And stuff.

But the blogging is definitely suffering in the build up to the move. I have been visiting many of my favourites but can't seem to actually structure anything to post here. I'm sorry.

In direct contrast to my 'frequent to irregular' posting habits, is this weeks awardee, Sparx, writer of Notes from Inside my Head who has recently gone from being a 'once a week' blogger to one of the 'almost every day' variety. I thought she should know how grateful I am for her Spud-inspired missives as I plough through two years' worth of cleaning and sorting.

Sparx writes predominantly about her son, Charlie, also affectionately known as 'the Spud'. In fact, motherhood is all she writes about. I have not seen her digress into politics, social development or environmental issues - except insofar as they effect the Spud. This is a focused woman. She does work, but as this has never been given more attention than an executive diary entry, I can only assume that her job allows her to spend time in an office somewhere thinking of her boy.

I am a mom and, having got through two and a half years of nappies, occasional sleep deprivation, illnesses, crawling, toddler travel, weaning and so on, I am astounded at how much I enjoy reliving it. But then it is retold in quite the most consistently entertaining manner by Sparx. Thank you so much for keeping me in laughter.

I just can't wait for toilet training...

Raining awards...

...which makes a nice change!

What a fantastic and fruitful morning of blog visits! Lots of good reading and....drumroll... TWO awards!

People like me! They really like me! I think. Well, at least they've started giving me stuff to put in my sidebar. I'll take that!

Firstly, I picked up this little beaut from Lady MacLeod:


I'm a little concerned that she interpreted my Award from A Broad as schmoozing....wait...okay, it was a bit schmoozy. So that's okay then!

And then I got this one from Kaycie:

for 'generous bloggers who think of others'. Which, given the amount of incredibly useful information I've got from other bloggers makes me feel like a bit of a fraud.

Truly, thank you both so much. I've been a bit erratic at posting lately - move stuff - which makes for some great ideas for posts but leaves little time to actually write the suckers. So to be getting this recognition makes me feel really inspired to try harder.

These are awards for passing on so for blogger schmooze (which is actually a blogging community award) I nominate:

Sparx

Elsie Button and

Misssy M

Who all keep me in laughter and comments. Which gets to the heart of what I look for in my community!

For the Thoughtful Blogger award, I have been very lucky to have received very real assistance from a few fellow bloggers - very generous indeed so:

Reluctant Memsahib - thank you for the information about Nairobi.

Debio - thank you for the tips on Dubai.

Jenny - thank you for showing me how to make jam!

Now polish them nicely and put them on your sidebar....