Today the Fourth Nur Brother arrived! Haider, brother number three came back with his son, Yakub. They had left for Paris after spending one night in Glasgow last Thursday.
Meher left early in the morning for a dentists appointment and decided to get a massage afterwards. She was then beckoned to Friday's event venue to confirm the placement of the dance floor!
Father Dear and Jejums went to pick up 25 helium balloons, which we will use for decorating the house before the final guests arrive on Thursday.
Aino Phuppo, Mother Dear, Ayesha and I left for Glasgow at 1.30 to get our henna out on for the wedding. At the same time Aamer Chacha and Baba Jan left to pick up number four and son from the airport.
(I asked Baba Jan to count off the arrivals on his list- he assured me he has crossed off the names as his children have arrived at McNur Manor.)
Tomorrow the count will be complete :)
Before heading to Glasgow, Ayesha and I went to drop Poppet off at Kennedy farm. There's too much traffic and excitement for her and she will stay there until the wedding is over.
By the way, our Henna looks SHA-MAZING! Let's hope the colour doesn't fade before Friday :( On our way back home, we stopped at Kennedy farm and gave Sally some Pakistani sweets as a thank you for looking after Poppet and lending us the flat and caravan. She is truly a life saver :)
The henna ladies arrived back form Glasgow to find the house in full swing. One too many cars were parked int he driveway and when we entered, we found Mother Dear's niece and her family paying their respects to Baba Jan. 20 minutes after that, our family friends, the K.P's arrived. 5 mins after that, Ann arrived to pick up her Henna ceremony dress. Tea, cake, samosas, Russ Malai and a few channas later, Lakshmi and I went upstairs to choreograph and practice a couple of dances for the Henna ceremony. Usually, by now, I would have choreographed and taught too many dances to all the cousins but since we haven't had any time (or cousins :P ) that hadn't happened…
But Lakshmi is amazing and said she would like to do a couple of dances. We managed to finish one song in about 40mins and the excitement is rising. NOT LONG TO GO NOW!!!!
Once all the visitors had left, we all sat and helped Haider Chacha unpack his suitcases and then dropped the two younger brothers avec son to Medowview Bed and Breakfast of the night.
Then I went upstairs to massage Baba Jan's feet and tuck him in to sleep :)
The last task (after writing this blogpost) was to create a playlist for the DJ to give him an indication about the kinds of songs we want him to play for both events.
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Eid Mubarik
Today it is EID! It is the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting and we all celebrate by eating more food than usual… Usually, we don't really celebrate Eid because there aren't any other Muslims in our area to help us eat.. But this year, things are different! We have many people to share our joy and help us lick all the plates clean. After cleaning the entire house top to bottom,
we all showered and put on new clothes. Needless to say, we all looked FAB.U.LOUS.
The rest of the day was spent having numerous conversations with Baba Jan about Persian poetry and how he wants to download some poetry onto his iPad- which he calls "Dabba" - (box in Urdu)
Later we ate out in the garden, enjoying the thousands of flowers Ammi has planted all around. A delightful day, indeed!
P.S. Last night, some ingrate, non- educated-deliquent, climbed over our gate and broke it… He also cut the wires to the lights draped over the trees outside. We were quite heartbroken- it took a lot of effort, time and not to mention, money to get the job done. Gavin and Ross, the electricians, were upset as well. Although we couldn't see in the CCTV "who done it", but we found out what time the ligths went off- it's been reported to the Police, but I doubt anything will come of it :(
(5)
The rest of the day was spent having numerous conversations with Baba Jan about Persian poetry and how he wants to download some poetry onto his iPad- which he calls "Dabba" - (box in Urdu)
Later we ate out in the garden, enjoying the thousands of flowers Ammi has planted all around. A delightful day, indeed!
P.S. Last night, some ingrate, non- educated-deliquent, climbed over our gate and broke it… He also cut the wires to the lights draped over the trees outside. We were quite heartbroken- it took a lot of effort, time and not to mention, money to get the job done. Gavin and Ross, the electricians, were upset as well. Although we couldn't see in the CCTV "who done it", but we found out what time the ligths went off- it's been reported to the Police, but I doubt anything will come of it :(
(5)
Three Out Of Five
Today my Dad's youngest brother arrived :) Ayesha and I picked up Aamer Chacha (Father's younger brother) from Glasgow airport and then went to Silverburn. Despite (or maybe because I was) using a SatNav, I got lost four times. After asking directions twice and using what was left of my brain, we arrived at Silverburn and met the rest of the family there.
The only reason I wanted to go to Silverburn was because the shoes I ordered from Amazon for the wedding haven't arrived yet!!! I found the perfect shoes on sale at Dorothy Perkins.. or so I thought.
Meher said they wouldn't match the dress and Mother Dear declared that they were much too high!
As Mother and daughter began to argue over why my shoes were not suitable, I (being Swtizerland as usual) removed myself from the situation before things got out of hand.
The only reason I wanted to go to Silverburn was because the shoes I ordered from Amazon for the wedding haven't arrived yet!!! I found the perfect shoes on sale at Dorothy Perkins.. or so I thought.
Meher said they wouldn't match the dress and Mother Dear declared that they were much too high!
As Mother and daughter began to argue over why my shoes were not suitable, I (being Swtizerland as usual) removed myself from the situation before things got out of hand.
After the afore-mentioned heated discussion, I drove Baba Jan, Aamer Chacha and Ayesha back to Maybole. On the way back, I stopped at Ayesha's friend's house and dropped her off there to play for a few hours. Once we got back home, my friends, Lauren and Joe came for an impromptu cup of tea and slice of cake. It was a lovely, unexpected surprise and it was great to see them.
The house was jumping as the guests talked, laughed and caused general merriment. The conversation continued late into the night and everyone went to bed, filled with food and happiness.
(6)
Monday, 28 July 2014
Sat Sat Saturday
Today was spent getting things in order as usual. Between loads of laundry and impromptu trips for a spot of sight-seeing to Girvan, the day sailed by hour by hour.
Baba Jan is getting used to the Scottish weather and the McNur Manor. It's nice to see him so relaxed and happy.
(7)
Baba Jan is getting used to the Scottish weather and the McNur Manor. It's nice to see him so relaxed and happy.
(7)
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Fri-egg Day
Today was spent pampering Baba Jan and Aino Phuppo.
At breakfast we managed to consume a considerable/ impressive amount of eggs…
Then, Mum and Aino Phuppo went to town and did a spot of sight seeing and shopping. And we took Baba Jan for some ice-cream. Later, we sat outside in Mother Dear's fabulous garden, enjoying the weather, flowers and company.
This time next week all systems will be go-go-go!
Let's hope the weather isn't too warm/ too wet!!
(7)
At breakfast we managed to consume a considerable/ impressive amount of eggs…
Then, Mum and Aino Phuppo went to town and did a spot of sight seeing and shopping. And we took Baba Jan for some ice-cream. Later, we sat outside in Mother Dear's fabulous garden, enjoying the weather, flowers and company.
This time next week all systems will be go-go-go!
Let's hope the weather isn't too warm/ too wet!!
(7)
Be our guest, Be our guest, put our service to the test!
Our first set of guests arrived today:
Baba Jan (Grand dad, Father Dear's Dad)
Aunt (Dad's Sister) Annie
Uncle (Haider) and his son (Yakub)
Before they arrived, I took Ayesha into town to get our nails and eyebrows done.. Then a surprise trip to the hairdresser to make Ayehsa look like a queen! Also, I booked us appointments for next Friday!
Meher, Mother Dear and Father Dear went to pick up the travellers from Glasgow airport and Ayesha, K homehodeja and I stayed at home and waited.. and waited.. and waited and waited. They arrived late at night and there was much fun to be had, including a tour of our home, cups of tea, gifts and gossip.
Overall a brilliant day. It was amazing to see Baba Jan and Annie Phuppo after such a long time. Haido Chacha and Yakub are away to Disneyland Paris for a title trip before the wedding and will be back on Tuesday. They stayed in Glasgow since they will be flying from there early tomorrow morning.
(8)
Lights, Camera, Action! (and more lights)
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I spent running around the house with two electricians in tow. It became my job to put up fairy lights around the house in order to decorate it for the wedding :)
Monday and Tuesday- Ayesha and I untangled a THOUSAND lights and leads and handed them over to the professionals to hang up around the outside of the hoooooose.
Monday and Tuesday- Ayesha and I untangled a THOUSAND lights and leads and handed them over to the professionals to hang up around the outside of the hoooooose.
As seen below, yours truly climbed the big tree to wrap lights around it.
Also, the sun is scaring the locals… I'm not sure they know how to deal with the 'heat'…
Wednesday- Today the inside of the house was decorated by the light of a million fairies! It looks fabulous! We've got flowers and lights all around the bannister. If possible, our home looks even more magical than usual :)
(11, 10, 9)
(SINGLE DIGITS!!?!?!!??)
Go, Go Gadget Glasgow!
Meher came back from London last night. She's got her flat all sorted out- unpacked and set up- ready for the newly weds to come back to from their Honeymoon (OOOOOoooooohhh!!!)
We went to Glasgow once more to pick up some more clothes and to get our hair done. My hair is now a delicious apple red. Nom Nom Nom.
On our way back we stocked up on some Biryani and Chicken tikka- ready for the first set of guests who will be arriving on Thursday :)
Before we came home, we stopped at Meadowview B&B to confirm spaces for guests and to allocate rooms for everyone who will be staying there.
(12)
We went to Glasgow once more to pick up some more clothes and to get our hair done. My hair is now a delicious apple red. Nom Nom Nom.
On our way back we stocked up on some Biryani and Chicken tikka- ready for the first set of guests who will be arriving on Thursday :)
Before we came home, we stopped at Meadowview B&B to confirm spaces for guests and to allocate rooms for everyone who will be staying there.
(12)
Bollywood Bang Bang
Lynsey, Freya and Kat came to see us today- they had to pick up their dresses. I would have taken the dresses to them but it made sense for them to come here- The seamstress in charge of sewing the wedding dresses should not call her self a seamstress. She has single handedly managed to ruin ALL of the clothes given to her. And poor Mother Dear has had to fix them at home.
There are many choice words I would like to use and hurl them at this so-called seamstress but I am tired of ranting about her.. Let's move on.
The afore-mentioned three ladies enjoyed a beautify lunch Mother Dear had prepared for them and then tried on their dresses- which unsurprisingly, had something wrong with each of them. Wonder Mother fixed them all and the gals left in the evening, filled with yummy food, gossip and with Bollywood-esque fabrics trailing behind them in a very becoming manner.
(13)
DRAW!!
After Lauren left and I did my mandatory cleaning of the entire house with Mother Dear, I sat down at my desk to work. I have to finish three illustrations before the end of next week and haven't had the time to do so. Things are taking their time, but the illustration is taking shape… Hopefully I can find some time to document proceedings on my art blog..
(14)
(14)
Lauren, Llamas and Love
My dear friend Lauren came to see us today! She was coming to Ayr to drop off some work for an exhibition at MacLurin Gallery and decided to come visit on her way back. She also came to take Kathryn's dress with her- it needed a few adjustments and we picked it up from Glasgow and brought it back to that Lauren could pass it on to her.
We tales and talked, ate and drank lots of tea.. and watched copious amounts of "Say Yes To The Dress". For those of you who don't know what it's about- it's a TV show where different brides come to 'Klienfields" a wedding dress shop to choose their wedding dresses. It's great watching. I get to pass judgment and not worry about getting told off. Brilliant :P
Lauren was going to drive back to Comrie but we convinced her to stay and took her for a drive to Culzean and then later on, to Sally's farm. Sally is the lovely lady who is giving us her one bedroom flat for all my friends coming to stay for the wedding. She also has a caravan which she is letting us use :)
And she has a farm… and that's where we got Poppet from!
We walked to her farm and Sally showed us where the flat is. It's just perfect. Having the flat is a BIG load of my mind!
At the farm we saw…
We tales and talked, ate and drank lots of tea.. and watched copious amounts of "Say Yes To The Dress". For those of you who don't know what it's about- it's a TV show where different brides come to 'Klienfields" a wedding dress shop to choose their wedding dresses. It's great watching. I get to pass judgment and not worry about getting told off. Brilliant :P
Lauren was going to drive back to Comrie but we convinced her to stay and took her for a drive to Culzean and then later on, to Sally's farm. Sally is the lovely lady who is giving us her one bedroom flat for all my friends coming to stay for the wedding. She also has a caravan which she is letting us use :)
And she has a farm… and that's where we got Poppet from!
We walked to her farm and Sally showed us where the flat is. It's just perfect. Having the flat is a BIG load of my mind!
At the farm we saw…
Good day :)
(15)
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Visting Vednesday
So many visitors today.
Okay, only three.
But it still felt like a lot…
First our electrician, Gavin came to see where we wanted lights for the wedding. His family and him have fast become our good friends. Gavin's always there to help and he know exactly how to handle a bunch of crazy Pakistanis ;)
Second, Wilma and Jim- our neighbours who lived at the end of the road when we lived in Knoweholm in Ayr. They're a lovely couple and it was great fun chatting to them. Mother Dear showed them around her blossoming garden and we were treated to repeated choruses of, "Oooooh!" and, "Wooowww! Beautiful, beautiful!"
Father Dear came back during Wilma and Jim's visit and announced he's on call and will be leaving again at 6pm - once he left, Mother Dear called Lorraine (Jeju's HeadTeacher and our favourite teacher, loveliest friend and life-line ) and invited her over to come choose her dress for the wedding. And so she did. She left a couple of hours later- all set with clothes, matching jewellery- the whole nine yards :) another happy customer! Lorraine, I'm sorry; Lady Lorraine, also brought pictures of her OBE ceremony- and showed us pictures of her shaking hands with the Queen and receiving her life-time achievement award for working with special needs children. What a lady! Lorraine is by far the most amazing person we know- she has so much love and wisdom to give. And we are privileged to have her as a friend. She has changed the lives of countless families with her constant care, love and guidance. We owe her A LOT…
I think we may have organised over 50 dresses, with matching accessories and we've still got about 20 more to deliver...
Between visitors I've only managed to trace the afore-mentioned illustration and transfer it onto another piece of paper. STILL NO COLOUR. Time is running out. My deadline is on the 20th!!!
(HELP)
(16)
Okay, only three.
But it still felt like a lot…
First our electrician, Gavin came to see where we wanted lights for the wedding. His family and him have fast become our good friends. Gavin's always there to help and he know exactly how to handle a bunch of crazy Pakistanis ;)
Second, Wilma and Jim- our neighbours who lived at the end of the road when we lived in Knoweholm in Ayr. They're a lovely couple and it was great fun chatting to them. Mother Dear showed them around her blossoming garden and we were treated to repeated choruses of, "Oooooh!" and, "Wooowww! Beautiful, beautiful!"
Father Dear came back during Wilma and Jim's visit and announced he's on call and will be leaving again at 6pm - once he left, Mother Dear called Lorraine (Jeju's HeadTeacher and our favourite teacher, loveliest friend and life-line ) and invited her over to come choose her dress for the wedding. And so she did. She left a couple of hours later- all set with clothes, matching jewellery- the whole nine yards :) another happy customer! Lorraine, I'm sorry; Lady Lorraine, also brought pictures of her OBE ceremony- and showed us pictures of her shaking hands with the Queen and receiving her life-time achievement award for working with special needs children. What a lady! Lorraine is by far the most amazing person we know- she has so much love and wisdom to give. And we are privileged to have her as a friend. She has changed the lives of countless families with her constant care, love and guidance. We owe her A LOT…
I think we may have organised over 50 dresses, with matching accessories and we've still got about 20 more to deliver...
Between visitors I've only managed to trace the afore-mentioned illustration and transfer it onto another piece of paper. STILL NO COLOUR. Time is running out. My deadline is on the 20th!!!
(HELP)
(16)
Poo-Poo Tuesday
Most of this day was spent picking up Poppet's poo- I'm going to start calling her Poopet.
Apart from picking up poo, we spent our day with our lovely family friend, Dawn and her three awesome kids- Neven (7) and Olry and Oriana (3 yr old twins)
They brought their dog, Bella too who Poppet was ecstatic to see- it was quite funny- Poppet was trying her best to mirror all of Bella's movements and Bella was playing it cool.
Before Dawn arrived, Meher left for London- she'll be back on Saturday. She's going to get the keys to her and Carl's new flat (WOW) and going to set up home before all the wedding etc. so when they return from the honey-moon it's ready to move into straight away.
Anyway, Meher left at 9.30am and a courier arrived at 11am to take all her six suitcases (5 and half of them filled with shoes.. ahem) down to LANDAN.
We had a lovely afternoon with Dawn and her family, she tried on her dress for the wedding and paraded around Nur Household. The rooms upstairs were heaving with dresses meant for our friends/family and everyday we have people visiting to come pick up their dresses. Slowly, but surely, the rooms are starting to empty :) all in time for the guests arriving next week!!!!!!
I tried to finish the illustration I'm working on- it's still a line-drawing. Four days since I started it. It's getting ridiculous- I must paint it soon, or die trying.
(17)
Apart from picking up poo, we spent our day with our lovely family friend, Dawn and her three awesome kids- Neven (7) and Olry and Oriana (3 yr old twins)
They brought their dog, Bella too who Poppet was ecstatic to see- it was quite funny- Poppet was trying her best to mirror all of Bella's movements and Bella was playing it cool.
Before Dawn arrived, Meher left for London- she'll be back on Saturday. She's going to get the keys to her and Carl's new flat (WOW) and going to set up home before all the wedding etc. so when they return from the honey-moon it's ready to move into straight away.
Anyway, Meher left at 9.30am and a courier arrived at 11am to take all her six suitcases (5 and half of them filled with shoes.. ahem) down to LANDAN.
We had a lovely afternoon with Dawn and her family, she tried on her dress for the wedding and paraded around Nur Household. The rooms upstairs were heaving with dresses meant for our friends/family and everyday we have people visiting to come pick up their dresses. Slowly, but surely, the rooms are starting to empty :) all in time for the guests arriving next week!!!!!!
I tried to finish the illustration I'm working on- it's still a line-drawing. Four days since I started it. It's getting ridiculous- I must paint it soon, or die trying.
(17)
Monday, 14 July 2014
Monday Makes Me Want To Run Away
I wish we could all run away separately to different corners of the world and the a break for a few days… not think about cleaning the house, making the beds, taking more trips to glasgow and forget the wedding for a few hours. It's alright to dream, isn't it?
Anyway, I digress. Today Mother Dear and Meher took yet another trip to Glasgow- to pick up some more dresses belonging to a few guests who are coming to the wedding… Ayesha and I went into town to find shoes to match our dresses. NO LUCK. We went to five different shops- all filled with "Back To School" stuff and there wasn't a single decent pair of shoes. Since I don't enjoy shopping anyway, not having reaped any fruit (or shoes) from our trip, I left town in an irritable mood. On the way back home, Ayesha and I went into a local restaurant on a whim. The food was lovely but we had to take the dessert back home otherwise we would have been late for Jeju's carers leaving.
Jeju was in top form when we got back and watched Snow White with us- actually, Ayesha and I tried to watch Snow White whilst Jeju made the most noise she could- she laughed, blew raspberries and sang songs and every now and then tried to throw the television remote off the bed.
In the evening I went to Zumba and came back and took Poppet on a walk. We spotted a cat in our garden and I tried to encourage her to chase the intruder. But the silly dog was too caught up in smelling the grass and couldn't give a rat's ass about the cat.
I'm going to take it upon myself to teach Poppet some bad habits- she's way too decent. In the future, words in Poppet's vocabulary will include:
"ATTACK!"
"EXTERMINATE!"
and if i'm feeling less gracious than usual…
"ANNIHILATE!"
(18)
Anyway, I digress. Today Mother Dear and Meher took yet another trip to Glasgow- to pick up some more dresses belonging to a few guests who are coming to the wedding… Ayesha and I went into town to find shoes to match our dresses. NO LUCK. We went to five different shops- all filled with "Back To School" stuff and there wasn't a single decent pair of shoes. Since I don't enjoy shopping anyway, not having reaped any fruit (or shoes) from our trip, I left town in an irritable mood. On the way back home, Ayesha and I went into a local restaurant on a whim. The food was lovely but we had to take the dessert back home otherwise we would have been late for Jeju's carers leaving.
Jeju was in top form when we got back and watched Snow White with us- actually, Ayesha and I tried to watch Snow White whilst Jeju made the most noise she could- she laughed, blew raspberries and sang songs and every now and then tried to throw the television remote off the bed.
In the evening I went to Zumba and came back and took Poppet on a walk. We spotted a cat in our garden and I tried to encourage her to chase the intruder. But the silly dog was too caught up in smelling the grass and couldn't give a rat's ass about the cat.
I'm going to take it upon myself to teach Poppet some bad habits- she's way too decent. In the future, words in Poppet's vocabulary will include:
"ATTACK!"
"EXTERMINATE!"
and if i'm feeling less gracious than usual…
"ANNIHILATE!"
(18)
Sunday, 13 July 2014
MY, OH MY...
So it's been more than a month since I updated this. I apologise- so, in order to play catch up quickly and not to ramble too much, I shall be recounting what happened every week rather than every day…
Week One- 12th June to 19th June
Meher went to London to attend a Welcome Night for her Masters :) I don't know how Meher managed to apply and get accepted whilst planning a wedding. Only she could. We're all very excited and proud of her <3 <3 <3 <3
she will be gone for the weekend and get back in a few days.
Also, every year, my Aunt and her family spend their summer holidays with us. This year, because of Ramadan, they won't be able to stay for longer than a couple of weeks but my Aunt will come back for the wedding in August..
On the 19th- the day my Aunt arrived, I took Lauren, Lynsey, Freya and Kat to get dresses for the reception. They couldn't believe their eyes- or their stomachs- we went for dinner afterwards ;) I hope they're all happy with their purchases and as we all left with our purses considerably lighter, there was a happy and content feeling in the air- mostly due to the food. :P
(50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43)
Week Two- 20th June to 27th June
This week was spent opening and reading all the lovely RSVP cards we received. It's Ayesha's job to collect all these cards and notes and paste them into an album Mum got for Meher and Carl's wedding as a memento.. The postman must think we are crazy- not only are we getting a shed load of 2-D mail, but we have been receiving many packages as well- countless items and objects "WE HAVE TO HAVE AT THE WEDDING" which I hope won't be forgotten on the day(s) including garlands of fake flowers, fake petals and crystals for table setting, and fairy lights. Also, it seems Mother Dear has taken it upon her self to buy all of Ayrshire's stock of garden plants. Douglas (our gardener) and Mother Dear have been planting plants left, right and centre…
Another thing that came by post this week was Emma's present- it's her birthday on the 25th and she's hosting a soiree on the 27th :) It'll be nice to let my hair down ;)
(42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35)
Week Three- 28th June to 5th July
My friend Mairi is leaving Scotland and moving to NORWAY!! Tonight (28th) is her leaving party and I made her a little elephant as a keep sake. Photos will be up soon on my art blog.
And this week has other big news- the ENTIRE Nur family is going on holiday… together… for the first time in over a DECADE. Two out of three of our visiting cousins will be coming with us too :) All of Sunday (29th) was spent packing for our week away :) We have booked a Centre Parcs Getaway and that's exactly what it turned out to be - a perfect getaway to escape the mounting tension of planning the wedding. We only went for five days but it was fabulous. Everyone there was lovely and so accommodating for Jeju's needs- she loved the swimming pool! Unfortunately on the last night, both Jeju and I were extremely unwell and spent lots of time bringing up all the food we ate during our time at Centre Parcs. Thank God it happened on the last night we were there and not the first!
(34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27)
Week four- 6th July to 13th July
The 4th was our last day in Centre Parcs- we left on the 5th… Spending almost an entire week without phone signal can be tricky when there are so many of us who was to do different things and need to stay in touch to meet up again but somehow we survived :P we came crashing back down to reality on the 5th as we travelled back to Maybole- we stopped at Gretna to meet up with my Aunt, Uncle and third cousin to swap over children and suitcases. My Aunt and her family drove down to London after we met up with them and then flew back to Pakistan. Next time we see my Aunt, the wedding days will be upon us!
Once we got back home to reality, Father Dear reminded Meher to get the paper work for the wedding sent off. We went in to Ayr to take them to the county buildings but they informed us that since the wedding will be taking place in Glasgow, we will have to take all the paper work to the Glasgow office. Sigghhhhhh… More trips to Glasgow. No paperwork, no wedding- and so Meher set off to get it all done early next morning but her train was delayed an HOUR! Our poor bride-to-be reached the Office in time for her new appointment and everything is settled. Let's hope we're not late for the actual ceremony...
This week also woke me up to all the work I still have to finish for a client! I contacted her and found out my next deadline and have been making work ever since.. or trying to find time and space enough to do so. Between re-arranging all the rooms every three or four days for guests, and planning the wedding of the year, it's been difficult to sit down and create ground-breaking work. But i'll try.
On the 11th, I FINALLY got to see the inside of Ayr Racecourse, Princess Suite- where the reception will take place. WOW. IT'S AMAZING. I got chills when I saw the space and couldn't wait to see it on the day. The caterer, who is also in charge of decor, gave us all the information about how the space will be set up, where the guests will arrive from, where the bride and groom parties will get ready etc. etc. and everything started to fall into place. I suddenly found myself hyperventilating as I realised two things-
1. The wedding is really close now
2. The Princess Suite is too big a space and I won't be able to do all the running around in heels and I'll have to re-think my shoes.
12th June- We took MORE people to the Asian shops today, including Kathryn and Lauren, who had to pick up their dresses, Dawn, who wanted to get one and Mark who became the first (and only) Non-Asain male friend to buy clothes from the Asian side of Glasgow. We got many odd looks in "Laali Fashion" - where we went to choose Mark's clothes. Maybe it was because I'd brought in four Non-Pakistani friends, two of whom were male. Or perhaps, it was due to the fact that Mark, un-elasticated trousers fell down in front of a few people as he modelled them in front of his friends. Whatever the case, we had a ball and later we all went for dinner. As everyone went their separate ways, Meher, Ayesha and I went to see the caterer/decorator at his warehouse to choose our decorations for both events. It's tiring work and we got back at 10.30 pm. Everything is organised and we couldn't be happier.
All that is left is confirming the DJ and meeting with the photographer.
Remember our original list? CLOTHES, CAKE, CATERER, CALLAWI… well we can tick off ALL of these items on the list. It feels good :)
(26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19)
NINETEEN DAYS??? WHAT.
Week One- 12th June to 19th June
Meher went to London to attend a Welcome Night for her Masters :) I don't know how Meher managed to apply and get accepted whilst planning a wedding. Only she could. We're all very excited and proud of her <3 <3 <3 <3
she will be gone for the weekend and get back in a few days.
Also, every year, my Aunt and her family spend their summer holidays with us. This year, because of Ramadan, they won't be able to stay for longer than a couple of weeks but my Aunt will come back for the wedding in August..
On the 19th- the day my Aunt arrived, I took Lauren, Lynsey, Freya and Kat to get dresses for the reception. They couldn't believe their eyes- or their stomachs- we went for dinner afterwards ;) I hope they're all happy with their purchases and as we all left with our purses considerably lighter, there was a happy and content feeling in the air- mostly due to the food. :P
(50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43)
Week Two- 20th June to 27th June
This week was spent opening and reading all the lovely RSVP cards we received. It's Ayesha's job to collect all these cards and notes and paste them into an album Mum got for Meher and Carl's wedding as a memento.. The postman must think we are crazy- not only are we getting a shed load of 2-D mail, but we have been receiving many packages as well- countless items and objects "WE HAVE TO HAVE AT THE WEDDING" which I hope won't be forgotten on the day(s) including garlands of fake flowers, fake petals and crystals for table setting, and fairy lights. Also, it seems Mother Dear has taken it upon her self to buy all of Ayrshire's stock of garden plants. Douglas (our gardener) and Mother Dear have been planting plants left, right and centre…
Another thing that came by post this week was Emma's present- it's her birthday on the 25th and she's hosting a soiree on the 27th :) It'll be nice to let my hair down ;)
(42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35)
Week Three- 28th June to 5th July
My friend Mairi is leaving Scotland and moving to NORWAY!! Tonight (28th) is her leaving party and I made her a little elephant as a keep sake. Photos will be up soon on my art blog.
And this week has other big news- the ENTIRE Nur family is going on holiday… together… for the first time in over a DECADE. Two out of three of our visiting cousins will be coming with us too :) All of Sunday (29th) was spent packing for our week away :) We have booked a Centre Parcs Getaway and that's exactly what it turned out to be - a perfect getaway to escape the mounting tension of planning the wedding. We only went for five days but it was fabulous. Everyone there was lovely and so accommodating for Jeju's needs- she loved the swimming pool! Unfortunately on the last night, both Jeju and I were extremely unwell and spent lots of time bringing up all the food we ate during our time at Centre Parcs. Thank God it happened on the last night we were there and not the first!
(34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27)
Week four- 6th July to 13th July
The 4th was our last day in Centre Parcs- we left on the 5th… Spending almost an entire week without phone signal can be tricky when there are so many of us who was to do different things and need to stay in touch to meet up again but somehow we survived :P we came crashing back down to reality on the 5th as we travelled back to Maybole- we stopped at Gretna to meet up with my Aunt, Uncle and third cousin to swap over children and suitcases. My Aunt and her family drove down to London after we met up with them and then flew back to Pakistan. Next time we see my Aunt, the wedding days will be upon us!
Once we got back home to reality, Father Dear reminded Meher to get the paper work for the wedding sent off. We went in to Ayr to take them to the county buildings but they informed us that since the wedding will be taking place in Glasgow, we will have to take all the paper work to the Glasgow office. Sigghhhhhh… More trips to Glasgow. No paperwork, no wedding- and so Meher set off to get it all done early next morning but her train was delayed an HOUR! Our poor bride-to-be reached the Office in time for her new appointment and everything is settled. Let's hope we're not late for the actual ceremony...
This week also woke me up to all the work I still have to finish for a client! I contacted her and found out my next deadline and have been making work ever since.. or trying to find time and space enough to do so. Between re-arranging all the rooms every three or four days for guests, and planning the wedding of the year, it's been difficult to sit down and create ground-breaking work. But i'll try.
On the 11th, I FINALLY got to see the inside of Ayr Racecourse, Princess Suite- where the reception will take place. WOW. IT'S AMAZING. I got chills when I saw the space and couldn't wait to see it on the day. The caterer, who is also in charge of decor, gave us all the information about how the space will be set up, where the guests will arrive from, where the bride and groom parties will get ready etc. etc. and everything started to fall into place. I suddenly found myself hyperventilating as I realised two things-
1. The wedding is really close now
2. The Princess Suite is too big a space and I won't be able to do all the running around in heels and I'll have to re-think my shoes.
12th June- We took MORE people to the Asian shops today, including Kathryn and Lauren, who had to pick up their dresses, Dawn, who wanted to get one and Mark who became the first (and only) Non-Asain male friend to buy clothes from the Asian side of Glasgow. We got many odd looks in "Laali Fashion" - where we went to choose Mark's clothes. Maybe it was because I'd brought in four Non-Pakistani friends, two of whom were male. Or perhaps, it was due to the fact that Mark, un-elasticated trousers fell down in front of a few people as he modelled them in front of his friends. Whatever the case, we had a ball and later we all went for dinner. As everyone went their separate ways, Meher, Ayesha and I went to see the caterer/decorator at his warehouse to choose our decorations for both events. It's tiring work and we got back at 10.30 pm. Everything is organised and we couldn't be happier.
All that is left is confirming the DJ and meeting with the photographer.
Remember our original list? CLOTHES, CAKE, CATERER, CALLAWI… well we can tick off ALL of these items on the list. It feels good :)
(26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19)
NINETEEN DAYS??? WHAT.
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Wed, Wed, go to bed
We spent most of the morning cleaning the Garage and restoring it to its former glory. Now that Poppet is in another area- she's getting too big too fast!- Mother Dear decided to re-claim the garage and make it all shiny and sparkly. After hours of work- it looks brilliant. And Ammi keep saying that my friends can stay in it when they come for the wedding…
I think they'd prefer to hire a caravan. They can't share a garage with rats- those rats don't know how to share. They're terrible hosts and are also very nosy.
I went to work at 1pm and once I got back, Meher and I went to Glasgow to speak to Aiina about their seamstress handiwork… On the way there, I realised we were passing Lynsey's flat and so I called her and asked if she wanted to come experience the Asian shops with us. I don't think she was prepared for what happened to her next. As a Pakistani, I was bowled over by Aiina's shop and so Lynsey was quite overwhelmed by "all the colours" and left the shop in a daze, having decided to get a Pakistani dress for the wedding as well. Before we dropped he back, we took her to a food shop and bought her some yummy nibbles. That night, I asked a few other friends if they'd like to buy a dress for August as well. They were crazy excited at the thought and I'll be taking them to Aiina next Thursday to give them an experience they won't forget ;)
(51)
I think they'd prefer to hire a caravan. They can't share a garage with rats- those rats don't know how to share. They're terrible hosts and are also very nosy.
I went to work at 1pm and once I got back, Meher and I went to Glasgow to speak to Aiina about their seamstress handiwork… On the way there, I realised we were passing Lynsey's flat and so I called her and asked if she wanted to come experience the Asian shops with us. I don't think she was prepared for what happened to her next. As a Pakistani, I was bowled over by Aiina's shop and so Lynsey was quite overwhelmed by "all the colours" and left the shop in a daze, having decided to get a Pakistani dress for the wedding as well. Before we dropped he back, we took her to a food shop and bought her some yummy nibbles. That night, I asked a few other friends if they'd like to buy a dress for August as well. They were crazy excited at the thought and I'll be taking them to Aiina next Thursday to give them an experience they won't forget ;)
(51)
Clothes
Last night before dinner, we picked up the rest of the clothes from Aiina. Mother dear decided to take Father Dear's car to Glasgow and as luck would have it, we forgot to remove the bags of clothes from the car boot before Father Dear left for work and we had to wait ALL day for him to come back so we could finally try them on.
Unfortunately, every single one of ten had something terribly wrong with them thanks to the terrible seamstress who can only sew clothes… terribly.
After a heart attack or five, I realised that no- I haven't put on any weight- the seamstress has just sewn the clothes at least two tighter from each side. I felt awful. This is the last thing we need at a time like this.
But what made it all better was Dad's reaction. Never before have I seem him so upset over clothes. His worry and stress over my clothes made my bad feelings disappear and all I could think was of how sweet it was of Dad when he started folding all the clothes and putting them back in their bags with great care, ready to take back to the seamstress. It's little things like this that make you realise that something like badly stitched clothes aren't the end of the world. Even if they are for a wedding.
(52)
Unfortunately, every single one of ten had something terribly wrong with them thanks to the terrible seamstress who can only sew clothes… terribly.
After a heart attack or five, I realised that no- I haven't put on any weight- the seamstress has just sewn the clothes at least two tighter from each side. I felt awful. This is the last thing we need at a time like this.
But what made it all better was Dad's reaction. Never before have I seem him so upset over clothes. His worry and stress over my clothes made my bad feelings disappear and all I could think was of how sweet it was of Dad when he started folding all the clothes and putting them back in their bags with great care, ready to take back to the seamstress. It's little things like this that make you realise that something like badly stitched clothes aren't the end of the world. Even if they are for a wedding.
(52)
Aiina, Meena, Mama, Mo...her
Since Ayesha is in Primary 7, those next couple of weeks are her last few days in Primary School. She'll be starting Secondary School in August. (My, hasn't she grown?) Anyway, today Ayesha went to Belmont Academy for a "trial day" at Secondary School.
While Ayesha was away having adventures in school, Meher, Mother and I were cleaning our lives away. The only thing that kept us going was knowing that we were going for dinner with out Aiina friends. Without the lovely people at Aiina, we would never be ready for Meher's wedding.
We have been getting so much help and clothes and help and jewellery.. and help from the lovely people at Aiina (a shop in Glasgow). After Mother Dear made a cake to show them our appreciation for all they've done for us, they knew they'd made friends for life :P
So we all made a plan to meet up for dinner, hilarity and to cause a general ruckus.
And before we went out to get a bite to eat, we went to Aiina to pick up Meher's wedding dress. IT WAS PERFECT. (still is, and always will be :P )
After the entire store admired Meher's dress, we went for dinner at The World Buffet- it was delightful- but as always with buffets- I ate too much. Let's hope I don't pay for it later…
Dinner was delicious. The company was brilliant and we had many, many laughs. We're very lucky to have made such lovely friends.
(53)
While Ayesha was away having adventures in school, Meher, Mother and I were cleaning our lives away. The only thing that kept us going was knowing that we were going for dinner with out Aiina friends. Without the lovely people at Aiina, we would never be ready for Meher's wedding.
We have been getting so much help and clothes and help and jewellery.. and help from the lovely people at Aiina (a shop in Glasgow). After Mother Dear made a cake to show them our appreciation for all they've done for us, they knew they'd made friends for life :P
So we all made a plan to meet up for dinner, hilarity and to cause a general ruckus.
And before we went out to get a bite to eat, we went to Aiina to pick up Meher's wedding dress. IT WAS PERFECT. (still is, and always will be :P )
After the entire store admired Meher's dress, we went for dinner at The World Buffet- it was delightful- but as always with buffets- I ate too much. Let's hope I don't pay for it later…
Dinner was delicious. The company was brilliant and we had many, many laughs. We're very lucky to have made such lovely friends.
(53)
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Sunday but not SUN-day
The sun came out to play for an hour or two, lulling us into a false sense of security. Before long though, it was Monsoon season...
Meher got back from seeing our cousins today. She had a lovely time and Maria, Erum and their Dad looked amazing :) May they always remain this blessed and happy! Mother Dear and Father Dear went to Glasgow to stock up on Halal meat for the next batch of visitors… Ayesha, Khodeja and I watched Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham (loosely translated as "Sometimes Happiness Sometimes Sorrow") It's one of the longest, most emotional and cheesy Bollywood films you'd ever (not) want to watch.
Once Meher got back, the sisters and Poppet went for a drive. Ammi got back just as we did and informed us that she had dropped Abbi off at A&E…
Apparently, he had been trying to drill through the metal rods of Poppet's enclosure to make a waterproof she let above it and goat metal shard in his eye. WHAT!?! He sported a Bollywood-esque bandage on his eye as I picked him up and later informed us that he did have protective goggles but didn't wear them… You would think a surgeon of all people, would realise that he is not invincible… Let's hope he doesn't decided to goto work tomorrow.
(54 days left!)
Meher got back from seeing our cousins today. She had a lovely time and Maria, Erum and their Dad looked amazing :) May they always remain this blessed and happy! Mother Dear and Father Dear went to Glasgow to stock up on Halal meat for the next batch of visitors… Ayesha, Khodeja and I watched Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham (loosely translated as "Sometimes Happiness Sometimes Sorrow") It's one of the longest, most emotional and cheesy Bollywood films you'd ever (not) want to watch.
Once Meher got back, the sisters and Poppet went for a drive. Ammi got back just as we did and informed us that she had dropped Abbi off at A&E…
Apparently, he had been trying to drill through the metal rods of Poppet's enclosure to make a waterproof she let above it and goat metal shard in his eye. WHAT!?! He sported a Bollywood-esque bandage on his eye as I picked him up and later informed us that he did have protective goggles but didn't wear them… You would think a surgeon of all people, would realise that he is not invincible… Let's hope he doesn't decided to goto work tomorrow.
(54 days left!)
Expecting Visitors
Tuesday 3rd June-
Was spent cleaning the house to Mother Dear's standard and trying to keep on top of cleaning Poppet's hourly poo-poos and pee-pees…
P.S. Last night, my ear started hurting. I hope it's nothing serious.
Wednesday 4th June-
We are expecting some visitors today. As I pointed out- they will be the first visitors of the season. Remember the wedding half the family just attended? The Father of the Bride, (Vaqar Mamoon) The Sister of the Bride (Erum), The Aunt of the Bride (Raffia Phuppo) and the Uncle of the Bride (Sheedi Maamoon) arrived today in the evening. We spent most of the day cleaning, tidying and cooking for the visitors and there was much fun to be had at the dinner table :)
It was also Ayesha's leaver's party- the them was "Disney" and breaking all the stereotypes, Ayesha went as Princess Jasmine. She looked AMAZING. Meher did her hair and make-up and she could easily be passed as the actually Princess.
Thursday 5th June-
Erum, Meher and I went to get our nails done. And talk about her sister's (Maria) wedding. And Meher's wedding. And all the weddings on the world. Past, Present and Future. It was great fun to hang out with Erum- it's fun to have family over- we laughed at any and everything.
P.S. Turns out, I have a full-blown ear infection. It's the worst pain I HAVE EVER HAD. Mother Dear started me on antibiotics and Father Dear gave me a variety of ear-drops. Unfortunately, I woke up 3am tonight from searing pain in my ear, thinking I would have to go to A&E to have it drained or something. After Father Dear gave me medication and lots of sympathy, I was unable to sleep and caught up on Game of Thrones, crying more over my painful ear rather than the awful fates of the GoT characters I've grown attached to.
Friday 6th June-
Our visitors left today… with Meher. She decided last minute to go and surprise Maria for the Valima (one of the many parts of a Pakistani wedding- it's the one where the bride's family are invited by the groom and the bride welcomes them as part of her new family.)
Saturday 7th June-
RAIN. And since Poppet's enclosure is not waterproof yet, she was put up in the vestibule. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING, VERY VERY FRIGHTENING. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that my ear is much much better. I still cannot sleep on my left side and my face is quite swollen but at least the gut wrenching pain is GONE.
59, 58, 57, 56, 55
Was spent cleaning the house to Mother Dear's standard and trying to keep on top of cleaning Poppet's hourly poo-poos and pee-pees…
P.S. Last night, my ear started hurting. I hope it's nothing serious.
Wednesday 4th June-
We are expecting some visitors today. As I pointed out- they will be the first visitors of the season. Remember the wedding half the family just attended? The Father of the Bride, (Vaqar Mamoon) The Sister of the Bride (Erum), The Aunt of the Bride (Raffia Phuppo) and the Uncle of the Bride (Sheedi Maamoon) arrived today in the evening. We spent most of the day cleaning, tidying and cooking for the visitors and there was much fun to be had at the dinner table :)
It was also Ayesha's leaver's party- the them was "Disney" and breaking all the stereotypes, Ayesha went as Princess Jasmine. She looked AMAZING. Meher did her hair and make-up and she could easily be passed as the actually Princess.
Thursday 5th June-
Erum, Meher and I went to get our nails done. And talk about her sister's (Maria) wedding. And Meher's wedding. And all the weddings on the world. Past, Present and Future. It was great fun to hang out with Erum- it's fun to have family over- we laughed at any and everything.
P.S. Turns out, I have a full-blown ear infection. It's the worst pain I HAVE EVER HAD. Mother Dear started me on antibiotics and Father Dear gave me a variety of ear-drops. Unfortunately, I woke up 3am tonight from searing pain in my ear, thinking I would have to go to A&E to have it drained or something. After Father Dear gave me medication and lots of sympathy, I was unable to sleep and caught up on Game of Thrones, crying more over my painful ear rather than the awful fates of the GoT characters I've grown attached to.
Friday 6th June-
Our visitors left today… with Meher. She decided last minute to go and surprise Maria for the Valima (one of the many parts of a Pakistani wedding- it's the one where the bride's family are invited by the groom and the bride welcomes them as part of her new family.)
Saturday 7th June-
RAIN. And since Poppet's enclosure is not waterproof yet, she was put up in the vestibule. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING, VERY VERY FRIGHTENING. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that my ear is much much better. I still cannot sleep on my left side and my face is quite swollen but at least the gut wrenching pain is GONE.
59, 58, 57, 56, 55
Wedding in Milton Keynes
Saturday 31st May- to Monday 2nd June
Saturday-
Half the family left today at lunchtime and the other half stayed back. We shall all be re-united on Monday. After the rentals and youngest animal left, Meher, Khodeja and I felt a bit lost (free) and watched a few wedding films for inspiration. Actually, the entire weekend turned into a wedding related movie marathon- some of which were questionable. Here are the ones I remember:
- What's Your Number? (good for passing time- some laughs)
- My Best Friend's Wedding (I usually enjoy this film but for seem reason, Meher and I got bored about half-way through and decided to watch something else.)
- The Proposal (always a good, girly film)
- The Wedding Date (which Meher vetoed 30mins in)
- Jump The Broom (which was awful but for some reason we couldn't stop watching it)
Most of Saturday and Sunday was spent watching movies and playing with Poppet- the weather was RIDICULOUS. Just awful- rain, rain and more rain. Khodeja was happy throughout and was great company :)
Sunday-
On Sunday afternoon, I took my car round the corner to Mum's friend Irene's house because she rang to say she had a few plant pots to give us.
The other half of the Nur family arrived safely and we all swapped news and happenings before going to bed really late. Early start (as always) tomorrow.
62, 61, 60
Saturday-
Half the family left today at lunchtime and the other half stayed back. We shall all be re-united on Monday. After the rentals and youngest animal left, Meher, Khodeja and I felt a bit lost (free) and watched a few wedding films for inspiration. Actually, the entire weekend turned into a wedding related movie marathon- some of which were questionable. Here are the ones I remember:
- What's Your Number? (good for passing time- some laughs)
- My Best Friend's Wedding (I usually enjoy this film but for seem reason, Meher and I got bored about half-way through and decided to watch something else.)
- The Proposal (always a good, girly film)
- The Wedding Date (which Meher vetoed 30mins in)
- Jump The Broom (which was awful but for some reason we couldn't stop watching it)
Most of Saturday and Sunday was spent watching movies and playing with Poppet- the weather was RIDICULOUS. Just awful- rain, rain and more rain. Khodeja was happy throughout and was great company :)
Sunday-
On Sunday afternoon, I took my car round the corner to Mum's friend Irene's house because she rang to say she had a few plant pots to give us.
As you can see, my car looked like a jungle exploded in it. Unfortunately, one pot unturned on the front seat of my car, spreading A TON OF SOIL all over the front part of my car. I spent a good half hour trying to hoover it all out. Methinks, it will need to be valeted sometime next week.
Monday-
On Monday, we went to Glasgow. Jeju's carers were only here till 3.30pm so it had to be the SHORTEST Glasgow trip ever. After cleaning the house, we left at 12.30 and were back by 3.15pm. We even managed to get mini groceries done before coming back. (It's 50 miles to Glasgow)
Anyway, Meher and I went to PICK UP MY DRESS FOR THE RECEPTION, BECAUSE IT'S READY!!!!!! It looked amazing- when I chose it, I thought it looked lovely but seeing it in person was just fabulous. It needs a couple of minor adjustments and then it will be picked up the following Monday- when Meher's dress will be ready too!!!!
Meher and I also collected my Aunt's (Kath) and cousin's (Yasmin) dresses for the reception too :D They look AMAZING. We hope they'll like them <3The other half of the Nur family arrived safely and we all swapped news and happenings before going to bed really late. Early start (as always) tomorrow.
62, 61, 60
The last darling days of May
Tuesday 27th- Friday 30th May
Tuesday-
I asked for all my friend's addresses so I could send them their invitations to Meher and Carl's wedding. It didn't take long- I don't have any friends… (this is obviously a joke, and Ayesha, who is reading this over my shoulder as I type said, "Aww! That's so sad- why don't you have friends?" My sister obviously thinks I'm a loner. Anyway, my side of the cards are addressed and will be posted tomorrow.
Wednesday-
Since we are expecting my Aunt and her family in the next couple of weeks, Mother Dear rightly decide to get another freezer to store food for the masses. Apart from my Aunt's visit, during the wedding season at Nur McManor, there will be countless guests coming in and out and so an extra freezer will be paramount.
Thursday-
I was supposed to go and work at Gardenrose Primary but the P6's are away to Glasgow Science Centre. And so I joined in with Mother Dear and Meher's plans to run errands. We have started to receive lovely "Acceptance" cards from our numerous family and friends :)
Friday-
Another day of cleaning… with added packing and decoration of a very special cake. Father Dear, Mother Dear and Ayesha are leaving tomorrow for Milton Keynes for my cousin (Maria's) wedding! They are coming back on Monday and Meher and I will be looking after Khodeja. Here's hoping the Terrorist doesn't cause too much of a ruckus!
66, 65, 64, 63...
Tuesday-
I asked for all my friend's addresses so I could send them their invitations to Meher and Carl's wedding. It didn't take long- I don't have any friends… (this is obviously a joke, and Ayesha, who is reading this over my shoulder as I type said, "Aww! That's so sad- why don't you have friends?" My sister obviously thinks I'm a loner. Anyway, my side of the cards are addressed and will be posted tomorrow.
Wednesday-
Since we are expecting my Aunt and her family in the next couple of weeks, Mother Dear rightly decide to get another freezer to store food for the masses. Apart from my Aunt's visit, during the wedding season at Nur McManor, there will be countless guests coming in and out and so an extra freezer will be paramount.
As you can see the freezer fit quite snugly :)
I was supposed to go and work at Gardenrose Primary but the P6's are away to Glasgow Science Centre. And so I joined in with Mother Dear and Meher's plans to run errands. We have started to receive lovely "Acceptance" cards from our numerous family and friends :)
The collection of these cards are accumulating every day :)
Friday-
Another day of cleaning… with added packing and decoration of a very special cake. Father Dear, Mother Dear and Ayesha are leaving tomorrow for Milton Keynes for my cousin (Maria's) wedding! They are coming back on Monday and Meher and I will be looking after Khodeja. Here's hoping the Terrorist doesn't cause too much of a ruckus!
66, 65, 64, 63...
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Playing Catch Up
I must really make mini notes at the end of each day as it passes so I can refer to them and properly report the happenings as they happen. My terrible memory is letting me down. And so, I apologise and will keep each day's entry quite short…
Saturday 10th-
We spent a lot of our time cleaning the manor today- I know, I know, we have nothing better to do with our lives. Last week, our electrician found dry rot in the turret room upstairs. What an awful time to make such a discovery. As if we don't have enough to do already- twenty thousand animals to look after, a new puppy, Jeju's daily terrorisms.. oh, and a WEDDING. Thanks. Unfortunately, the problem is much bigger than we could ever have wanted and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. With all this stress hang in above our head, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned, trying to keep our minds occupied. It was Abbi who gave us something to laugh at- Ayesha and Father dear were cleaning out the chickens run, Poppet's area and rabbit's hutch and brought Rani into the kitchen like this...
Later on, the sun was interrupted by the rain and this happened...
Monday 12th-
Came back from my eye appointment to find Jeju's social worker and carers having a meeting in our kitchen. They are all such lovely people- I don't know how we would manage without their care, help, understanding and love :) There was some complaining about the lack of snacks (I have put everyone on a diet leading up to the wedding) so Mum had to dig out a couple of emergency chocolates to the delight of all.
Also, today- the WEDDING CARDS ARRIVED. We were so excited to open them. But we were in for a shock. A terrible terrible shock. The cards arriving in an awful box- something one would use to transport moulding mangoes- not fancy wedding invitations. The box was bashed and the cards inside were bent. As we took out the cards we found they were basically thrown into the box, and almost every card had black printer ink marks on them (the cards are cream with a gold design). The cards had obviously been packed before the ink had dried and while some were stuck together, others had extra markings transferred onto them from other cards. A lot of the printing was uneven and many corners of the cards were bent and in some cases torn! It was a bloody nightmare. We were all speechless. We contacted the man who printed the cards and he told us that there was nothing he could do since all these cards were apparently spoiled during transit and wasn't his fault. Since I am a lady I will refrain from using crass language and death threats at this point- even though I am quite good at it- I've learned from the best, what can I say? (Sorry, Mother Dear :P )
After many raised voices and tempers we realised that stressing over all this was not worth our time and decided to cut our losses and send out the cards which were salvageable. Having gone through life and dealing with countless, much more life-threatening situations, we just got on with it. As we always do. Such is life! :)
Tuesday 13th March
I spent most of today planing my lessons for the stop-motion project. And cleaning. And playing with Poppet. Later on we addressed more wedding cards ready to send. Meher and Ayesha were amazing and did ALL the cards while I was away to Edinburgh. This was the picture she sent me:
Poor Ayesha- having helped Meher fold, write, seal and address over 200 cards- finally take a rest…
Wednesday 14th
The fun continues as we get the wedding cards posted…
Thursday 15th May
Today we cleaned. It was a cleaning of biblical proportions- I felt our quest for cleanliness would never end and decided to give the following speech to my fellow cleaners. I may have borrowed a few words. If only I had a horse.
"Daughters of Nur! My sisters, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me!
A day may come when the courage of cleaners fails, when we forsake our feather dusters and break all bonds of cleanliness. But is not this day. An hour of messiness and questionable hygiene when the age of cleaners comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we clean! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you clean! Women of the West (originally from the East)"
The original, yet slightly less dramatic speech given by Aragorn:
"Daughters Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!"
Saturday 10th-
We spent a lot of our time cleaning the manor today- I know, I know, we have nothing better to do with our lives. Last week, our electrician found dry rot in the turret room upstairs. What an awful time to make such a discovery. As if we don't have enough to do already- twenty thousand animals to look after, a new puppy, Jeju's daily terrorisms.. oh, and a WEDDING. Thanks. Unfortunately, the problem is much bigger than we could ever have wanted and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. With all this stress hang in above our head, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned, trying to keep our minds occupied. It was Abbi who gave us something to laugh at- Ayesha and Father dear were cleaning out the chickens run, Poppet's area and rabbit's hutch and brought Rani into the kitchen like this...
Even Cinderella couldn't have found a better fit than this!
Sunday 11th-
Went into town today with the entire family. What fun :) We hardly ever get to go anywhere all together. I think Ammi wanted to disown Meher, Ayesha and I when we started to take pictures in Primark…
Monday 12th-
Came back from my eye appointment to find Jeju's social worker and carers having a meeting in our kitchen. They are all such lovely people- I don't know how we would manage without their care, help, understanding and love :) There was some complaining about the lack of snacks (I have put everyone on a diet leading up to the wedding) so Mum had to dig out a couple of emergency chocolates to the delight of all.
Also, today- the WEDDING CARDS ARRIVED. We were so excited to open them. But we were in for a shock. A terrible terrible shock. The cards arriving in an awful box- something one would use to transport moulding mangoes- not fancy wedding invitations. The box was bashed and the cards inside were bent. As we took out the cards we found they were basically thrown into the box, and almost every card had black printer ink marks on them (the cards are cream with a gold design). The cards had obviously been packed before the ink had dried and while some were stuck together, others had extra markings transferred onto them from other cards. A lot of the printing was uneven and many corners of the cards were bent and in some cases torn! It was a bloody nightmare. We were all speechless. We contacted the man who printed the cards and he told us that there was nothing he could do since all these cards were apparently spoiled during transit and wasn't his fault. Since I am a lady I will refrain from using crass language and death threats at this point- even though I am quite good at it- I've learned from the best, what can I say? (Sorry, Mother Dear :P )
After many raised voices and tempers we realised that stressing over all this was not worth our time and decided to cut our losses and send out the cards which were salvageable. Having gone through life and dealing with countless, much more life-threatening situations, we just got on with it. As we always do. Such is life! :)
Tuesday 13th March
I spent most of today planing my lessons for the stop-motion project. And cleaning. And playing with Poppet. Later on we addressed more wedding cards ready to send. Meher and Ayesha were amazing and did ALL the cards while I was away to Edinburgh. This was the picture she sent me:
Poor Ayesha- having helped Meher fold, write, seal and address over 200 cards- finally take a rest…
Wednesday 14th
The fun continues as we get the wedding cards posted…
We decided that Meher was a mail order bride...
Thursday 15th May
Today we cleaned. It was a cleaning of biblical proportions- I felt our quest for cleanliness would never end and decided to give the following speech to my fellow cleaners. I may have borrowed a few words. If only I had a horse.
"Daughters of Nur! My sisters, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me!
A day may come when the courage of cleaners fails, when we forsake our feather dusters and break all bonds of cleanliness. But is not this day. An hour of messiness and questionable hygiene when the age of cleaners comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we clean! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you clean! Women of the West (originally from the East)"
The original, yet slightly less dramatic speech given by Aragorn:
"Daughters Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!"
We also found time to call our lovely cousin, Ali Nabi Nur for his birthday. We left numerous messages only fit for the ears of the birthday boy. We hope he had a lovely day and that we embarrassed him enough. We love him loads :)
Friday 16th May
Today I drove to Dundee to see the degree show opening. I'll be staying for the weekend so I can have a good look around. I stayed with Kathryn- it was great to see her and Andy's new house!!! (THEY OWN A HOUSE. AND THEY HAVE A MORTGAGE...THEY'RE MY AGE, WHAT THE HELL!??!!?)
Their home is lovely and I had a great time :) The opening was glorious. As always there were LOADS of people I hadn't seen for ages and it was amazing to catch up!
This is only a hundredth, maybe a thousandth of the people there. What a great night. Got back in REALLY late or more precisely- really early- just as the sun was rising. I misunderstood how to disable Kathryn's alarm and managed to wake poor Kathryn at the crack of dawn with a horrendous noise.
Saturday 17th May
This morning I had the first late morning since God knows when. I woke up at 10.30am!!! I never get the chance to stay in bed till then :P Kathryn and I got ready and headed to the Art College to take a gander at the art on display- the degree show was immense as always and I think we managed to see about 15% of it… Later on, met my friends for lunch and spent the rest of the day with them. I was supposed to go climbing but because of the crazy heels I wore last night, I was in pain :P
Sunday 18th May
Drove back from Dundee to Ayr in just under two hours (thanks to driving at an average of 85-95miles an hour, don't tell Father Dear) I was in time to pick up Ayesha's friends from Ayr and bring them back to Maybole with me. They wanted to come visit Poppet and then go swimming. The kids played and swam their day away and then were picked up later on in the evening. I'm exhausted form the excitement of the weekend.
Monday 19th May
This is all I remember from this day. It was glorious. I thank God every day for giving us a Mother who entertains us to no end :P
Tuesday 20th May
As I mentioned before, Meher got accepted to her Masters in Business Psychology in Kingston University. She received and e-mail informing her about a welcome night for students happening in the middle of June. And so she booked her tickets to attend :) We are all very excited and happy for her.. and also very proud of our little shrink. God knows she's got enough crazy people in her family to practise on :P
Wednesday 21st May
The bride to be is feeling quite gracious today..
Thursday 22nd May
Went to vote with Father Dearest
The weather outside is AWFUL. and so we dressed accordingly :P
Friday 23rd May
Went to the Post-office with some more wedding cards to post before work and made friends with the Post-office People. They are lovely. And now they are invited to the wedding as well…. I think ALL of Maybole will probably be there if we're not careful. Since once more we are the only Pakistanis in the village (quick Little Britain reference here…)
they knew exactly who we were and how long we lived her for and what we all do. I wouldn't be surprised if they can hear us all the way to the high street- shouting to each other at home.
Saturday 24th May
Meher sent me this..
Sunday 25th May
THE ENTIRE FAMILY, including Poppet went to Glasgow today. As we drive there, I felt we had been magically transported to India during Monsoon season. The rain/hail/sleet was surprising, annoying and unwanted in the middle of May- this is what a Scottish summer looks like...
To be honest, I don't think this picture does justice to the hellish weather we endured.
We had an amazing time in Glasgow and got a lot of work done- most of the clothes and jewellery is finalised. Are we organised, or what?
Tonight we watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with Ayesha so she could be acquainted with all the references we continually make to the movie. This film will never get old and it will always be relevant to our family :P especially now that Meher is marrying "Xeno with the long hairs on top of his head"
Well, at least the "long hairs" part doesn't apply here :P
Monday 26th May
Seeing as how everyone seems to be writing and delivering their own sets of wedding cards, I decided to make some time and write my share and contacted all those lucky people who will be receiving cards from me. And so I septa most of the day getting all that sorted. They'll be in the post soon!!
83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76. 75, 74, 73, 72, 71, 70, 69, 68…. 67 DAYS TO GO!!!
Friday, 9 May 2014
Week of Cakes
SUNDAY- Ayesha and I went to Lidl today. There was a poor old woman who needed help and so we became good samaritans and dropped her back home (she had an extremely bad back- she was bent over with pain and had two HUGE and heavy bags of shopping which she had no idea how to get back to her home) We also stopped at Pets At Home and got Poppet an engraved, pink heart shaped tag for her collar with her name and our home number on it. We played with the newest addition to our family once we got home. She's lovely.
MONDAY- I dressed up nice and fancy to go meet my next employers… I came downstairs and received a few raised eyebrows and many nice comments and questions as to where I was going. The meeting went well and I am going to be working on a stop-motion project with a P6 class from a local primary school. I'll be going in every Wed/Thu 1-3pm to mould minds :)
I came back from from my successful meeting to find the Nur house busy as ever. Since Poppet the puppy has arrived I've been thinking of Fibonacci's sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8 etc.) I've just been going over the numbers of people/animals in our home now and have come up with a Nur's sequence.
1 puppy- Poppet, 2 rabbits- Charlie and Rani, 2 roosters- Abishek (a.k.a Humph) and Dumbeldore (a.k.a Frizzly), 6 chickens- Mrs Nesbit, Bunty, Bubbly, Sheila, Munni and Pinky, 6 Nurs- Nasser, Gul, Meher, Ameena, Khodeja (Jeju) and Ayesha, 7 carers for Jeju, two of which come every day except Sunday -Jackie, Sheila, Lynette, Mary, Louise, Heather, Violet and … INFINITY/NUMBER UNKNOWN/TOO LARGE TO BE CALCULATED of people to come fix our never-ending crumbling home including joiners, electricians, plumbers, gardner etc.
So, here's the Nur sequence- 1,2,2,6,6,7, ∞
I apologise, I digress :P Let me get back to telling you about Monday...
Since it was a bank holiday, the schools are off and so Ayesha has free run of the house. She spent most of the day playing with Poppet. Who is the most docile/ playful/ intelligent puppy ever. She'll soon settle in :)
Mother dear was baking more than a thousand cakes today. She's promised cakes to half of the people of Scotland and so the cake producing line was flowing today. She's going to decorate them as and when she needs them. What an amazing mother.
TUESDAY- It's Dad's first day back at work today after 3 months- He had an operation on his shoulder and was recovering from it the past few months. It was lovely to have him at home. When we were growing up we would see him two maybe three times a week since he would always be working/on call. It was a nice change to have him at home. I think he may be looking forward to his retirement…
I went into Gardenrose Primary to introduce myself to the P6's and prepare them for tomorrow. They seem like a good bunch. As always, it'll take me a session with them to find out what the class dynamic is like. But all in all, it was good. They seemed very enthusiastic about starting the project and have some fun ideas. Let's see what they come up with over the next few weeks.
Tonight I'm driving to Edinburgh where I'm going to see Clutch with Kathryn. I got to Edinburgh just after 5 and enjoyed walking around Kathryn's parent's swanky flat. It's to die for :) We then went for dinner at this Thai restaurant (brilliant food) before heading to The Liquid Rooms for the gig. The support in band- which were called something like "Lion Heads"- were pretty good. Though, as I pointed out to Kathryn; they didn't look like they were in a rock band at all. They need to change/hire a stylist fo' sho!! Clutch were awesome. All in all a good crowd, good music, and definitely a good night. It was great seeing Kathryn. Hadn't seen her since I left Dundee- felt like ages! Also, walking through Edinburgh at night was lovely- I really want a job there :D
WEDNESDAY- I drove home quite early today- pretty exhausted from all the excitements of last night. I got home around 11.30 and mentally/physically prepared myself to start my new job at 1pm (remember, moulding minds :P ? )
The session with P6's went well. Not to brag or anything but I pretty much had them eating out of my hands. *smug face*
*CAKE UPDATES* Ammi delivered 2 cakes over the last 40 hours and has two more to go. She also made brownies for a review meeting which was supposed to happen today with us and Jeju's carers.
Later that evening, the electrician came with his two daughters (aged 8 and 4) and with a whopping bill. For the kids, coming to the Nur house was like Christmas come early. They stayed for a couple of hours and played with our growing petting zoo (rabbits, dog, chickens) and then moved on to the various musical instruments in the study (piano, ukes, guitar, boucle bass, box, bongos) You name it, we got it. They were the most nicely behaved girls- what a pleasure to entertain them.
THURSDAY- The morning began with some general cleaning of the Nur Manor and helping Mother Dear decorate yet more cakes. Then I went to Gardenrose Primary to do my job. I surprised the kids by taking them out of their classroom and herding them into the Gym Hall where we proceeded to warm up to Glen Miller's "In The Mood" I made them stand in a circle and asked them to copy the movements I did. I even made their teacher join in. It began in a quite whimsical manner- some bobbly head, spirit fingers, shaky knees… but I think they began taking me seriously when I started making them doing press-ups… By the end of the song they were all out of breath. I made a mental note to work them harder next time :P I set them a creative task to come up with a short skit based on the stories they wrote out for me yesterday. Their topic is the Commonwealth Games and they were asked to come up with a premise for the stop-motion they want to make. I wanted them to be able to act out their story so they could understand the importance of body-language and how to use expressions/ dialogue/ movement etc to convey a message. Each group showcased their mini-plays and were recorded and we finalised the story/characters etc. All in all a very production session, indeed.
Later in the evening, I went to Zumba- YES! feeling rejuvenated, came back home to find that World War 3 had broken out at the Nur household. I swear to God, I leave the house for 90mins and people start arguing. I played Switzerland yet again, trying to neutralise the opposing teams (Mum and Meher). They are too similar and sometimes find it difficult to listen to each other…
I went to sleep at an ungodly hour after watching too much T.V and had horrible dreams where Meher, Jeju and I fled Scotland because some war had broken out. In this dream we walked to America, and got a ship to Pakistan (?????) and found ourselves in 100-B Model Town (our house in Lahore, Pakistan) we waited there for a couple of days and were joined by Mum who informed us that Dad had stayed back to fight in the afore mentioned war. No one mentioned Ayesha - and I never thought about her missing….
When I mentioned this to Ayesha in the morning- she replied, "Maybe I was not born at that time" At least someone understands my dreams…even if I don't.
The last of the cakes were collected today. I hope there are no more cakes for a long time. Because I'll eat all the leftovers and won't be able to fit into any of my clothes by the time August is here.
FRIDAY- This morning I took Ayesha to her dentist appointment before dropping her off at school. She's been off all week- with a terrible cold/fever/ear infection. Poor little chicken. But last night since she felt much better she decided to go learn things at school. When I got back home, Mum, Meher and I decided to give the garage a quick clean. What started out as a hoover and mop job turned into a three hour excavation session. The day we moved in last June, the people we bought the house from were still moving out. They were still not fully packed and were moving things one by one into a tiny van as our massive moving vans emptied our lives onto the drive. These people also left A LOT of their stuff in the garage, taking the next 5 months to move those things out. And then they stopped coming around and left a SHED LOAD OF CRAP in the garage which is of use to NO ONE. (Please note the use of capitals here are to highlight my annoyance and therefore not to be taken lightly) There is an entire back wall cluttered with a giant, rusted, metal scaffolding frame which is harbouring about 800 (no exaggeration) bits of assorted bits of wood including skirting panels, rails, cornices, sleeves, countertops etc. We never had the man power/ time/ engery/ brain to move all this into a skip- and to be honest, we had more pressing matter at hand. Now, to make it a more usable/ safe area, we placed two giant wood board in front of the scaffolding to stop and of the wood avalanching onto people. I used to have a studio space set up in the garage a while ago and used these boards as a wall to tack things onto. It was pretty stable and never really gave us trouble. Plus it covered up all the rubbish. Out of sight, out of mind. And so today, when we were moving a cupboard up against the boards, they fell. I caught them just in time before an avalanche of heavy wood flattened anyone. And this is when Meher cracked.
She declared that we must get rid of all this rubbish. And so we did. With the help of Douglas (our gardener) we loaded his jeep up multiple times and got about 80% of it cleaned up before he had to go. Poppet was in her enclosure in the garage as we worked. She'd been running around most of the morning and was hyper as only a puppy can be. As we were cleaning, we were making an immense amount of noise and so we were surprised to find that Poppet had fallen asleep! She was oblivious to what was going on. Probably exhausted form all the excitement...We'll finish the job next week when Douglas is back. It feels amazing to get all that junk out of our home. Meher and I set the garage once more. It looks like a million dollahs. Well, if i million dollahs look like a nicely set garage. For all I know, it could. I've never seen a million dollahs. Anyway, after that, we took Jeju to get her prescription (she's got an ear infection too D: ) and then did mini-groceries.
We got back home to find out that our dear friend Nadia Khala (Khala means "aunt/aunty") was coming over. Also, our family friends Ann, Katie and Mhairi had booked to see Poppet after dinner as well. Kaite is getting married in a few weeks and so as usual, the conversation turned to weddings, weddings, weddings. Katie's wedding is going to be in St. Andrews and everything I've seen/ heard about it is lovely. Meher is going to be doing Katie's bridal make-up and Mum and Dad will be going as well. I may be able to go if we get respite for Jeju. It'll be too long a distance for her to travel in one day. Later on, Meher, Katie, Ann and Mum even shared their stories about how to were proposed to. Great fun. So, once again, it was a full house as everyone gathered around copious cups of tea, making jokes, eating kebabs and samosas and carrot cake till 11pm.
It's now 1.35 pm and I'm exhausted. It's surprising how time consuming writing a blog can be. Especially when you have an awful memory like me and have trouble remembering what happened five hours ago left alone five days ago. Good night. Here's hoping I don't dream of any wars tonight.
(89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84)
EIGHTY-FOUR!!!????? Oh dear god, where is the time going?
MONDAY- I dressed up nice and fancy to go meet my next employers… I came downstairs and received a few raised eyebrows and many nice comments and questions as to where I was going. The meeting went well and I am going to be working on a stop-motion project with a P6 class from a local primary school. I'll be going in every Wed/Thu 1-3pm to mould minds :)
I came back from from my successful meeting to find the Nur house busy as ever. Since Poppet the puppy has arrived I've been thinking of Fibonacci's sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8 etc.) I've just been going over the numbers of people/animals in our home now and have come up with a Nur's sequence.
1 puppy- Poppet, 2 rabbits- Charlie and Rani, 2 roosters- Abishek (a.k.a Humph) and Dumbeldore (a.k.a Frizzly), 6 chickens- Mrs Nesbit, Bunty, Bubbly, Sheila, Munni and Pinky, 6 Nurs- Nasser, Gul, Meher, Ameena, Khodeja (Jeju) and Ayesha, 7 carers for Jeju, two of which come every day except Sunday -Jackie, Sheila, Lynette, Mary, Louise, Heather, Violet and … INFINITY/NUMBER UNKNOWN/TOO LARGE TO BE CALCULATED of people to come fix our never-ending crumbling home including joiners, electricians, plumbers, gardner etc.
So, here's the Nur sequence- 1,2,2,6,6,7, ∞
I apologise, I digress :P Let me get back to telling you about Monday...
Since it was a bank holiday, the schools are off and so Ayesha has free run of the house. She spent most of the day playing with Poppet. Who is the most docile/ playful/ intelligent puppy ever. She'll soon settle in :)
Mother dear was baking more than a thousand cakes today. She's promised cakes to half of the people of Scotland and so the cake producing line was flowing today. She's going to decorate them as and when she needs them. What an amazing mother.
TUESDAY- It's Dad's first day back at work today after 3 months- He had an operation on his shoulder and was recovering from it the past few months. It was lovely to have him at home. When we were growing up we would see him two maybe three times a week since he would always be working/on call. It was a nice change to have him at home. I think he may be looking forward to his retirement…
I went into Gardenrose Primary to introduce myself to the P6's and prepare them for tomorrow. They seem like a good bunch. As always, it'll take me a session with them to find out what the class dynamic is like. But all in all, it was good. They seemed very enthusiastic about starting the project and have some fun ideas. Let's see what they come up with over the next few weeks.
Tonight I'm driving to Edinburgh where I'm going to see Clutch with Kathryn. I got to Edinburgh just after 5 and enjoyed walking around Kathryn's parent's swanky flat. It's to die for :) We then went for dinner at this Thai restaurant (brilliant food) before heading to The Liquid Rooms for the gig. The support in band- which were called something like "Lion Heads"- were pretty good. Though, as I pointed out to Kathryn; they didn't look like they were in a rock band at all. They need to change/hire a stylist fo' sho!! Clutch were awesome. All in all a good crowd, good music, and definitely a good night. It was great seeing Kathryn. Hadn't seen her since I left Dundee- felt like ages! Also, walking through Edinburgh at night was lovely- I really want a job there :D
WEDNESDAY- I drove home quite early today- pretty exhausted from all the excitements of last night. I got home around 11.30 and mentally/physically prepared myself to start my new job at 1pm (remember, moulding minds :P ? )
The session with P6's went well. Not to brag or anything but I pretty much had them eating out of my hands. *smug face*
*CAKE UPDATES* Ammi delivered 2 cakes over the last 40 hours and has two more to go. She also made brownies for a review meeting which was supposed to happen today with us and Jeju's carers.
Later that evening, the electrician came with his two daughters (aged 8 and 4) and with a whopping bill. For the kids, coming to the Nur house was like Christmas come early. They stayed for a couple of hours and played with our growing petting zoo (rabbits, dog, chickens) and then moved on to the various musical instruments in the study (piano, ukes, guitar, boucle bass, box, bongos) You name it, we got it. They were the most nicely behaved girls- what a pleasure to entertain them.
THURSDAY- The morning began with some general cleaning of the Nur Manor and helping Mother Dear decorate yet more cakes. Then I went to Gardenrose Primary to do my job. I surprised the kids by taking them out of their classroom and herding them into the Gym Hall where we proceeded to warm up to Glen Miller's "In The Mood" I made them stand in a circle and asked them to copy the movements I did. I even made their teacher join in. It began in a quite whimsical manner- some bobbly head, spirit fingers, shaky knees… but I think they began taking me seriously when I started making them doing press-ups… By the end of the song they were all out of breath. I made a mental note to work them harder next time :P I set them a creative task to come up with a short skit based on the stories they wrote out for me yesterday. Their topic is the Commonwealth Games and they were asked to come up with a premise for the stop-motion they want to make. I wanted them to be able to act out their story so they could understand the importance of body-language and how to use expressions/ dialogue/ movement etc to convey a message. Each group showcased their mini-plays and were recorded and we finalised the story/characters etc. All in all a very production session, indeed.
Later in the evening, I went to Zumba- YES! feeling rejuvenated, came back home to find that World War 3 had broken out at the Nur household. I swear to God, I leave the house for 90mins and people start arguing. I played Switzerland yet again, trying to neutralise the opposing teams (Mum and Meher). They are too similar and sometimes find it difficult to listen to each other…
I went to sleep at an ungodly hour after watching too much T.V and had horrible dreams where Meher, Jeju and I fled Scotland because some war had broken out. In this dream we walked to America, and got a ship to Pakistan (?????) and found ourselves in 100-B Model Town (our house in Lahore, Pakistan) we waited there for a couple of days and were joined by Mum who informed us that Dad had stayed back to fight in the afore mentioned war. No one mentioned Ayesha - and I never thought about her missing….
When I mentioned this to Ayesha in the morning- she replied, "Maybe I was not born at that time" At least someone understands my dreams…even if I don't.
The last of the cakes were collected today. I hope there are no more cakes for a long time. Because I'll eat all the leftovers and won't be able to fit into any of my clothes by the time August is here.
FRIDAY- This morning I took Ayesha to her dentist appointment before dropping her off at school. She's been off all week- with a terrible cold/fever/ear infection. Poor little chicken. But last night since she felt much better she decided to go learn things at school. When I got back home, Mum, Meher and I decided to give the garage a quick clean. What started out as a hoover and mop job turned into a three hour excavation session. The day we moved in last June, the people we bought the house from were still moving out. They were still not fully packed and were moving things one by one into a tiny van as our massive moving vans emptied our lives onto the drive. These people also left A LOT of their stuff in the garage, taking the next 5 months to move those things out. And then they stopped coming around and left a SHED LOAD OF CRAP in the garage which is of use to NO ONE. (Please note the use of capitals here are to highlight my annoyance and therefore not to be taken lightly) There is an entire back wall cluttered with a giant, rusted, metal scaffolding frame which is harbouring about 800 (no exaggeration) bits of assorted bits of wood including skirting panels, rails, cornices, sleeves, countertops etc. We never had the man power/ time/ engery/ brain to move all this into a skip- and to be honest, we had more pressing matter at hand. Now, to make it a more usable/ safe area, we placed two giant wood board in front of the scaffolding to stop and of the wood avalanching onto people. I used to have a studio space set up in the garage a while ago and used these boards as a wall to tack things onto. It was pretty stable and never really gave us trouble. Plus it covered up all the rubbish. Out of sight, out of mind. And so today, when we were moving a cupboard up against the boards, they fell. I caught them just in time before an avalanche of heavy wood flattened anyone. And this is when Meher cracked.
She declared that we must get rid of all this rubbish. And so we did. With the help of Douglas (our gardener) we loaded his jeep up multiple times and got about 80% of it cleaned up before he had to go. Poppet was in her enclosure in the garage as we worked. She'd been running around most of the morning and was hyper as only a puppy can be. As we were cleaning, we were making an immense amount of noise and so we were surprised to find that Poppet had fallen asleep! She was oblivious to what was going on. Probably exhausted form all the excitement...We'll finish the job next week when Douglas is back. It feels amazing to get all that junk out of our home. Meher and I set the garage once more. It looks like a million dollahs. Well, if i million dollahs look like a nicely set garage. For all I know, it could. I've never seen a million dollahs. Anyway, after that, we took Jeju to get her prescription (she's got an ear infection too D: ) and then did mini-groceries.
We got back home to find out that our dear friend Nadia Khala (Khala means "aunt/aunty") was coming over. Also, our family friends Ann, Katie and Mhairi had booked to see Poppet after dinner as well. Kaite is getting married in a few weeks and so as usual, the conversation turned to weddings, weddings, weddings. Katie's wedding is going to be in St. Andrews and everything I've seen/ heard about it is lovely. Meher is going to be doing Katie's bridal make-up and Mum and Dad will be going as well. I may be able to go if we get respite for Jeju. It'll be too long a distance for her to travel in one day. Later on, Meher, Katie, Ann and Mum even shared their stories about how to were proposed to. Great fun. So, once again, it was a full house as everyone gathered around copious cups of tea, making jokes, eating kebabs and samosas and carrot cake till 11pm.
It's now 1.35 pm and I'm exhausted. It's surprising how time consuming writing a blog can be. Especially when you have an awful memory like me and have trouble remembering what happened five hours ago left alone five days ago. Good night. Here's hoping I don't dream of any wars tonight.
(89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84)
EIGHTY-FOUR!!!????? Oh dear god, where is the time going?
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Schaschke and Gane
This morning I fed and played with Poppet to my heart's content. She's really intelligent and a quick learner. She's loving all the attention she's getting...
Today I'm off to see some lovely friends :)
Ammi made a lovely cake for Lynsey's birthday and I spent the end of last night making a present for Lynsey (Schaschke) and Tom's (Gane) flat-warming/ Lynsey's Birthday do. It looked a little something like this:
Today I'm off to see some lovely friends :)
Ammi made a lovely cake for Lynsey's birthday and I spent the end of last night making a present for Lynsey (Schaschke) and Tom's (Gane) flat-warming/ Lynsey's Birthday do. It looked a little something like this:
The green elephant represents Lynsey and the things she likes behind her. (sushi, books, cakes)
The blue one is Tom (a duck and some video game references- an Xbox 360 controller and mario kart mushrooms)
There will be more pictures up soon on my artsy blog: http://ameenanur.blogspot.co.uk
As always it was a glorious evening filled with my three favourite F's: Friends, Food and Fun. It was lovely to catch up with some amazing people and we dined in style on sushi and pizza :P I drove home late late late at night, and got back at 2am (46.8miles back home)
Saturday 3rd May 2014
(90)
The last few days
Wednesday 30th April - Saturday 2nd May
A LOT has happened in the last few days- I've been meaning to write a post for each day but since I've been run off my feet, it's been a bit difficult.
So here's a quick re-cap of what's been going on.
Wednesday, 30th April-
Ammi, Meshu and I went to Glasgow to finalise the wedding clothes. It was a very productive day. We got everything on our list done and more! I love all the lovely people Ammi's made friends with at the Aaina shop we go to in Glasgow- they are so helpful and accommodating :)
Thursday, 1st May-
Meher's caterer contacted her with a list of all the food stuffs/pretty decorating things he is gong to be providing for the joyous occasion. We all sat down to discuss each and every item on the list and worked hard to cut down each and every cost we could. Later in the evening, I went to Zumba. AWESOME :)
I came back home to hear the oddest news- Abbi, Ammi and Ayesha were not at home... For the past few days we had all been looking at a hand-painted sign propped up at the road side just outside Maybole, advertising "Puppies for Sale". Everytime we had passed it we looked at each other, imaging what life would be like with a glorious little puppy in our midst. But we knew it would be possible to have one. Abbi was quite adamant about the responsibilities/ difficulties/ responsibilities that come with owning a dog. We all agreed reluctantly that it would be too much to look after a dog what with all that we have to do. Keeping this is mind, I was surprised to hear that Abbi, Ammi and Ayesha had gone to look at the puppies advertised. Meher and I were upset since we wanted to see the pups too. But Meher stayed at home to look after Jeju and to wait for me to get back from exercise class. Grumbling, I went upstairs to shower. I hadn't been in the shower for two minutes all together when I was given a heart attack by someone hammering LOUDLY on the bathroom door. Yes, you guessed it- it was Ayesha,
"Meena Baji! MEENA BAJI!!!! COME QUICK! We are going to see the puppies! THE PUPPIES, COME QUICK! MEENA BAJI MEENA BAJI MEENA BAAAAAJJJJJIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!???!!"
Once my heartbeat slowed down considerably, I finished washing my hair and got out of the shower. All the while, Ayesha was prancing about telling me to hurry up. I put on whatever clothes I could find and didn't even get a chance to dry my hair as Ayesha dragged me down the stairs. Abbi was standing in the hallway, telling me to go quickly- Ammi was waiting in the car with Meher. Abbi would stay with Jeju so we could go look at the pups. In the car, Ayesha said that Abbi had agreed to get a dog. I didn't believe it for a second. I dutifully recited all of Abbi's reasons as to why we couldn't / shouldn't get a dog. We got to the farm- which was just a couple of minutes drive away from us- and then I saw the puppies. Needless to say I del in love there and then. They were a cross between a choc labrador and a collie. Mostly brown with a couple of tiny white spots on each puppy. Out of the ten Trudy (the mum) had, there were four left- and only one of the four was unreserved. A girl pup, whose chest had a small white diamond on it and her back left paw was tipped with the small colour. I picked her up. Cliche Cliche Cliche- she looked at me. And I melted. We had to have her. Before I knew what was happening, Ammi was negotiating the price and agreed to bring a deposit there and then. Meher, Ayehsa and I waited at the farm, looking at the other animals. We made conversation with some sheep, marvelled at the size of the bulls, but the most interesting were the llamas, especially this one:
(That hair is fierce)
Ammi came back with the deposit and we paid the man at the farm- who was happy to get rid of us squealing girls. We told him that we'd be back for the puppy on Monday- once we got the house ready for her. I slept that night on cloud nine, unsure of how to feel…
Friday 2nd May-
9am and I find myself going to introduce myself to my next employer- the Deputy Head Principal of a local school- Gardenrose Primary. I'll be starting a stop-motion project with the P6's next week. Exciting! Once I got back, the Nur house was in full swing as usual.
We spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the garage. I used to use it as a studio space before I moved to Dundee and we decided it would be the best place to put the puppy. Ammi and I worked with Mary (the lady who comes to help around the house) and made the place shine. It looks grand! Abbi, who had left in the morning to go into town to run some errands, came back and ran in and out of the garage. He was practically jumping around like a little school boy- apparently, he had made a detour in town to pick up some things for the puppy including a collar and leash, a water and food bowl and a card for "Puppy Training Classes" He was more excited than us all put together about the arrival of the puppy. He set about building an enclosure for said puppy. And once he finished it, he decided that we could bring the puppy home today. And so we did. We kept throwing names about the entire day, trying to decide what we should call our new puppy. After a few delightfully terrible suggestions, " Shaniqua, Onyx, Lola…" , I came up with "Poppet. Everyone but Meher liked the name. And, so it was decided. We went to get her- she was quite scared, poor thing- understandable for a 7 week puppy to be separated from her mummy dearest.
Meet, Poppet <3 I still can't believe she's ours.
(93, 92, 91)
A LOT has happened in the last few days- I've been meaning to write a post for each day but since I've been run off my feet, it's been a bit difficult.
So here's a quick re-cap of what's been going on.
Wednesday, 30th April-
Ammi, Meshu and I went to Glasgow to finalise the wedding clothes. It was a very productive day. We got everything on our list done and more! I love all the lovely people Ammi's made friends with at the Aaina shop we go to in Glasgow- they are so helpful and accommodating :)
Thursday, 1st May-
Meher's caterer contacted her with a list of all the food stuffs/pretty decorating things he is gong to be providing for the joyous occasion. We all sat down to discuss each and every item on the list and worked hard to cut down each and every cost we could. Later in the evening, I went to Zumba. AWESOME :)
I came back home to hear the oddest news- Abbi, Ammi and Ayesha were not at home... For the past few days we had all been looking at a hand-painted sign propped up at the road side just outside Maybole, advertising "Puppies for Sale". Everytime we had passed it we looked at each other, imaging what life would be like with a glorious little puppy in our midst. But we knew it would be possible to have one. Abbi was quite adamant about the responsibilities/ difficulties/ responsibilities that come with owning a dog. We all agreed reluctantly that it would be too much to look after a dog what with all that we have to do. Keeping this is mind, I was surprised to hear that Abbi, Ammi and Ayesha had gone to look at the puppies advertised. Meher and I were upset since we wanted to see the pups too. But Meher stayed at home to look after Jeju and to wait for me to get back from exercise class. Grumbling, I went upstairs to shower. I hadn't been in the shower for two minutes all together when I was given a heart attack by someone hammering LOUDLY on the bathroom door. Yes, you guessed it- it was Ayesha,
"Meena Baji! MEENA BAJI!!!! COME QUICK! We are going to see the puppies! THE PUPPIES, COME QUICK! MEENA BAJI MEENA BAJI MEENA BAAAAAJJJJJIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!???!!"
Once my heartbeat slowed down considerably, I finished washing my hair and got out of the shower. All the while, Ayesha was prancing about telling me to hurry up. I put on whatever clothes I could find and didn't even get a chance to dry my hair as Ayesha dragged me down the stairs. Abbi was standing in the hallway, telling me to go quickly- Ammi was waiting in the car with Meher. Abbi would stay with Jeju so we could go look at the pups. In the car, Ayesha said that Abbi had agreed to get a dog. I didn't believe it for a second. I dutifully recited all of Abbi's reasons as to why we couldn't / shouldn't get a dog. We got to the farm- which was just a couple of minutes drive away from us- and then I saw the puppies. Needless to say I del in love there and then. They were a cross between a choc labrador and a collie. Mostly brown with a couple of tiny white spots on each puppy. Out of the ten Trudy (the mum) had, there were four left- and only one of the four was unreserved. A girl pup, whose chest had a small white diamond on it and her back left paw was tipped with the small colour. I picked her up. Cliche Cliche Cliche- she looked at me. And I melted. We had to have her. Before I knew what was happening, Ammi was negotiating the price and agreed to bring a deposit there and then. Meher, Ayehsa and I waited at the farm, looking at the other animals. We made conversation with some sheep, marvelled at the size of the bulls, but the most interesting were the llamas, especially this one:
(That hair is fierce)
Ammi came back with the deposit and we paid the man at the farm- who was happy to get rid of us squealing girls. We told him that we'd be back for the puppy on Monday- once we got the house ready for her. I slept that night on cloud nine, unsure of how to feel…
Friday 2nd May-
9am and I find myself going to introduce myself to my next employer- the Deputy Head Principal of a local school- Gardenrose Primary. I'll be starting a stop-motion project with the P6's next week. Exciting! Once I got back, the Nur house was in full swing as usual.
We spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the garage. I used to use it as a studio space before I moved to Dundee and we decided it would be the best place to put the puppy. Ammi and I worked with Mary (the lady who comes to help around the house) and made the place shine. It looks grand! Abbi, who had left in the morning to go into town to run some errands, came back and ran in and out of the garage. He was practically jumping around like a little school boy- apparently, he had made a detour in town to pick up some things for the puppy including a collar and leash, a water and food bowl and a card for "Puppy Training Classes" He was more excited than us all put together about the arrival of the puppy. He set about building an enclosure for said puppy. And once he finished it, he decided that we could bring the puppy home today. And so we did. We kept throwing names about the entire day, trying to decide what we should call our new puppy. After a few delightfully terrible suggestions, " Shaniqua, Onyx, Lola…" , I came up with "Poppet. Everyone but Meher liked the name. And, so it was decided. We went to get her- she was quite scared, poor thing- understandable for a 7 week puppy to be separated from her mummy dearest.
Meet, Poppet <3 I still can't believe she's ours.
(93, 92, 91)
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Gardening :)
The weather today was glorious. We all found ourselves out in the garden, enjoying the sun and getting some work done amongst the various plants. I'll let the photos do the talking :)
We made a little sun bed for Jejums <3 And I put some flowers in her hair.
The chickens strut about all over the garden, enjoying the sun and having dirt baths…
Tuesday 29th April 2014
(94)
I love her smile :D
The chickens strut about all over the garden, enjoying the sun and having dirt baths…
Jeju's sun bed area
Monkey puzzle tree
Abbi and I did some DIY
Tuesday 29th April 2014
(94)
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