Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

We arrived home yesterday around dinner time, we walked into a home barely recognisable. Spotless and quiet. Now, those of you parents of teenagers, having been left alone for 4 days, will understand that this will evoke feelings of trepidation. Why is it SO clean? why are these two so cheerful, so polite and accomodating? Cripes, something's amiss and no mistake. The full length split in the solid wood bathroom door was the beginning of the real truth, the rest is coming out, bit by bit. Lies first, oh such clever ( not) lies that only teenagers can make up and expect a parent to believe. Oh..funny thing, Jordan ran up the stairs and tripped, fell head first into the door...what a laugh...except the split was obviously from the inside of the door. Big mistake to lie to me my children.
Throughout the day it has become clear that there was a party...and trouble. The full story hasn't emerged but the bits that have sounded plausible aren't pretty.
I am way on the side of lenient with my big kids. I have been watching and seeing things I don't much like but have been allowing them rope enough to feel freedom and hoping (whilst closely watching) that maturity was close enough to step in and save the day. Unfortunately, they have hanged themselves with the rope and blown it. It all stops here and I think they won't like it too much.
Also.....my car is on the brink of hopelessness. The repairs are out of reach for a considerable time unless I can find the parts on ebay. £900 to fix it. PPPTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHH. I hope I can reduce that by finding the parts and getting a local garage to fit them rather than the toyota dealer. We'll see. It can get boring, the winging it thing, the robbing Peter to pay Paul. I am not going to worry, we will walk and keep walking, save and be glued to Ebay. I need an airflow meter and a throttle position switch.....such innocent sounding bits and pieces. My new project.

New subject.......it has been a joy to me to become aware of the sights that are to be seen when you walk, rather than drive....oh and catching the bus, going through back roads and seeing new sights, missed when busy getting from A to b the fastest way possible.
I saw a sight that begged to be photographed, grrrrrrr that my camera was at home.
A young couple, sitting on a wall, with their sweet baby in front of them, in his pushchair. Neither could be called obese, but neither were they slim, or toned. Wobbly and a bit chunky, both. Both wearing those fashionable yet impossible to understand why, low rise jeans and short shirts, both leaning forward to talk to their baby....as the bus passed behind them I was forced to stare at the sight before me, a matching pair of bum cracks, at least 6 inches of each. Oh dear, the things you see when you haven't got a gun!! I can't help but thinkof the risk they were taking, the wall was a relatively low one with a cycle path behind...I shall say no more.

I am off now to wait for teenagers, the new rules are being set down tonight and it will all be done with the calmest of voices...that seems to hit home harder.