Bi visibility day :)

Ah, Bisexuality Day, when Freddie Mercury visits all the bisexuals who have been good the past year and gives them presents!

via gallopinggroundsloth

I'll be wearing a great deal of purple, my bi pride Converse (complete with rainbow laces) and possibly my 'Some people are Bi, Get over it' top from Stonewall.

I have my bisexuality permit ready :)

I bathed in the bisexual magical potion last night.

And if anyone spouts rubbish, I have some Space Invaders on my side :)

On a serious note, if you are wondering why there is a Bi Visibility Day once a year then read this article where bi people talk about their stories and the some misconceptions that surround bisexuality.

Calke Abbey

On the bank holiday weekend we went away with family to celebrate a 70th birthday. We met at Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. We were too late to get tickets to go round the house but could get tickets for the gardens. I really wanted to go around the house as it's been left as it was found, in a state of decline. Walls are damp, bits of ceiling have fallen off and the collections have been left where they are. I'll just have to go back one day!

The walled garden, which again has been left as it was found, had been turned into a child's playground with sticks and sheets to make dens, huge logs to climb, dens to make etc. It had also been yarn bombed!

There were cute critters in the trees and on the walls.

The orangery was beautiful and again had lots of creatures on the plants.

There was also a cute caterpillar with a sign saying 'Take a selfie' so we had to oblige!

More yarn bombing.

I'm not sure how long the yarn bombing is staying in the garden (maybe it's permanent?) but it's well worth a visit if you are nearby.

Bi Visibility Day

Every September 23rd is Bi Visibility Day - you are probably wondering why I'm telling you this. Well because I'm bisexual *fires pink, purple and blue glitter into the air* Some of you will already know this, some of you may have guessed and some of you may have had no clue at all. I'll start from the beginning shall I? This is a long post so you may want a cup of tea and a few biscuits to tide you over :)

When I was a teenager I thought I was gay and while I now know it's a common thing for teenagers to question their sexuality, as a hippy, already socially awkward 14 year old in a small town in North Yorkshire there were no visible gay people or any queer culture at all, which just added to my social unease. Also, this was before the internet (thank goodness for the internet now!) When I was 16 I went to work at a local theme park and there encountered my first lesbian couple but I didn't identify with them at all as they were quite butch and I was very feminine and had long blonde hair (Remember that at this time I was a bit like Jon Snow from Game of Thrones). I met my first boyfriend J there and I remember thinking, 'Oh, I'm obviously not gay any more' although I still continued to admire girls. I then went out with S, then S (both guys) and then I met Matt and we have been together since. I'd never heard the term bisexual before and didn't know what it meant although I was and have always been bisexual. The best definition of bisexual comes from Robyn Ochs and it resonates with me. The bisexual umbrella picture is also helpful.

So where does this fit with my life now? As I said I've always known I was bisexual and I've always admired other women as well as men and Matt has known this for a long time. However it's only been in the past few years that I have claimed the 'title' bisexual and thought of this as my identity. And it's only in the past few months that I have felt brave enough to tell other people and to be out as a bisexual woman. Part of this is down to a wonderful group in Manchester called Biphoria who offer a safe space to talk with fellow bisexuals and although nerve racking at first, it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise (the chips and friendly chatter in the pub afterwards help!) I am so much more confident in who I am now and this has had a huge impact on my depression too - I'm much healthier and happier now than I was 12 months ago.

So what does this mean for my life going forwards. Well essentially nothing has changed in my relationship with Matt. We are still in a loving monogamous relationship and that won't change - I chose him 20 years ago and I still choose him now. Society sees us as a straight couple but our family (and yes that includes the girls) know that we aren't.

This post was meant to wait until September 23rd but I've decided to share it now instead as it feels right. I'm pretty sure I will post more about bisexual activism and visibility on the day itself though.

I'm aware that I may be (for some of you anyway) the only out bisexual* you know so feel free to bombard me with questions and opinions although please do try to keep them polite :) I will literally answer anything so if you want to ask something but are shy then change to anonymous and I'll still answer them. Feel free to ask on facebook too or in real life. If you want a private answer then you can email me lynseysearle [at] gmail [dot] com.

And a big thank you must go to family and friends for accepting me as I am and to those people who I sent 'I'm feeling sorry for myself' emails. You know who you are.

*Out, white, monogamous, married to a man, cis(1) female bisexual - I can only answer questions from that perspective!

(1) identified as female at birth and still does. Opposite of cis is trans.

I have to stop giving excuses and just type :)

Yep still here! Still making although it does involve boring house sewing (repairing bed sheets anyone?) rather than chicken making! The Country Living Fair didn't quite go as planned and I was very disappointed with a) the organisation and b) the footfall of the hall we were in. But I'm not dwelling on the negatives and at least I tried :) And as the wonderful Neil Gaiman says

And also (because I'm being a bit zen today)

Well as zen as I can be when faced with a trip to the cinema with 8 girls aged between 7-10 and then for a meal afterwards :)

Happy Halloween!

From the dead/zombie/scary bride and her skeleton friend!

Have fun!

Taking stock

I've been inspired by the lovely Pip and the lovely Kate to write a post about what I am doing right now. Join in if you like :)

Making : lots of lists of things to do
Cooking : with things from the garden
Drinking : too much Pepsi Max. I need to cut down!
Reading: An older kids book by Henning Mankell
Wanting: an allotment but I'm currently 100 on the waiting list!
Looking: at my cute Harry dog
Playing: Plants Vs Zombies on my DS
Wasting: time on Facebook!
Sewing: I'm mending clothes at the moment
Wishing: for chickens
Enjoying: where I live
Waiting: for my house to be magically tidied :)
Liking: that the girls will try most foods once - see picture
Wondering: how I an make my garden more productive veg wise
Loving: nice friends
Hoping: to make it out one night soon with above mentioned friends
Marvelling: at how fast my girls are growing up (2 in juniors soon!)
Needing: a cleaning and organising fairy
Smelling: the aforementioned cute dog - he needs a bath!
Wearing: my thrifted cherry sundress that is made from a tablecloth (not by me!)
Following: my family's lead and trying to relax more
Noticing: lots more butterflies are around this year
Knowing: that everything happens for a reason
Thinking: too much! My brain is extra busy at the moment.
Feeling: happy
Bookmarking: Well not bookmarking but adding lots of lovely pins on Pinterest
Opening: a Twix bar :)
Giggling: at some of the grown up things my girls are saying

The girls trying (and enjoying) Japanese food in London

Taken on a sunny day

Can anyone else see a goat in Harry's shadow? Or is it just me :)

Bank holiday fun

We went to Saltaire today to visit while the Arts Trail was on (it's the first time in about 3 years I haven't had a stall) and it was nice to wander around and see lots of people! 

This was the view from our bedroom this morning with blue sky so we decided to take a picnic along although by the time we sat down to eat it was cold!

We bumped into Bec from Do You Punctuate and her son E had built this den - the girls decided to play in it with him and add more decoration with the bunting!

Tara decided to print this cool spaceman and she was really concentrating on getting the colours just right.

She also screenprinted this robot (the other print was letterpress)

Lots of fun was had by all including Harry although he didn't like the bicarb rockets!

P.S. I haven't forgotten the giveaway (although I did at the weekend - sorry) so it will be drawn tomorrow at 12 noon(ish)

Tidying

Our lobby is being used an awful lot more at the moment due to Harry Dog, the fact that all of my veggies are out in the front garden and that it's been playing out weather. Which usually leads to this.

Shoes everywhere, scooters that can't fit where they are meant to because shoes are in the way and more shoes. The big long cushion thing is from Taz the campervan before he was renovated.  Very useful for stopping bottoms getting cold when sitting on the doorstep! It, along with the canes, has been moved back to where it belongs!

Solution? Buy a cheap shoe rack from Argos, fill it with shoes, put the hats away on the hat rack (I know!) and move the shoes that shouldn't really be there to the back door where there is a much bigger shoe rack!

And after only taking 25 mins (10 of that was getting the packaging off the shoe rack!) I now have a lobby I can walk through. I wonder if the rest of the house can be sorted in 25 minute chunks!

Only my girls....

..... could combine swinging on the swings with book reading :)

We truly love books that much! Of course, I was sat reading mine as they were swinging/reading/playing :)

Harry Dog

So, we have a dog :) If you follow me on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter you will have guessed this already but if not, we have a dog! He is a chihuahua and is called Harry - not named by us but his previous owners who named him after Prince Harry as he is a fawn (ginger) colour.

He likes sitting on the top of the sofa if he can't get onto your lap and I swear he is more cat like than dog like :)

He also loves piles of washing and doesn't mind if it's clean or dirty! His favourite thing to do (apart from roll around in washing) is to roll around on our bed - oh and also sleep on it too!

He is a helpful office dog - keeping my sewing chair warm and helping type emails. He also wanted to help screw the doors back onto my cupboard for BCTF ;)

He LOVES snuggles and being close to us and didn't mind his first bath. He'd rolled in bird poo (something else we have discovered he likes!) so we had to give him a bath but luckily he didn't mind it - doesn't like the hair-dryer though!

He is adored by the girls and they love helping out and walking him. I think they also like him as it means we go to the park more often and they get to play on the playground!

We bought him from a couple who live a few towns from us and we weren't told the truth by them about him. It doesn't make any difference to us but it would have been nice not to be lied to! We have also never owned a pet let alone a dog so we didn't know the type of questions to ask - we were naive perhaps but....

We were told he was 3 or 4 when he is more like 6 (it's very difficult to tell the age of a dog once they are no longer puppies but that's what the vet estimates), we were told he was micro chipped (he wasn't but is now) and we were also told that he was fully vaccinated but they couldn't provide any proof and didn't respond to emails when we asked which vet they had used. He also has quite a bit of tooth decay (common in chihuahuas) that he will need to have looked at and the teeth possibly removed. We think he was looked after but not looked after well and as the couple claimed he had fathered 41 puppies, we think he may have been just used as a stud dog. He is very timid around people he doesn't know and he is very scared of other dogs. The fear of other dogs/things larger than them is common in chihuahuas as they are the smallest breed of dog and therefore very aware of their frailty due to size. He has got better and I think walking him up to school where he gets lots of attention has helped - the noise and scurrying of many children seems to help! We are also going to get him some training to help with the timidness and also to get him to come when we call as he can't be let off the lead.

So, in conclusion, we are very glad that he has come to live with us and he is a very much loved dog :)

Easter egg decoration time

The girls are still at school for 4 days this week and it's time for the annual Easter egg competition. This year is famous people (as I'm sure it was last year!) Anya chose an actual person and Tara chose someone from TV. See if you can guess who they are! Anya's egg first.

Have you guessed who these guys are?

Fancy windows? Stone bricks? Who lives in a house like this?

Whoever it is likes wearing a crown and sits on a throne on a red carpet. Have you guessed yet?

Of course - the Queen in Buckingham Palace guarded by Beefeaters!*

Now Tara's which is a bit trickier unless you are a fan of 80's cartoons!

Hmmmmm - tricky isn't it? The people in this seem to be in some sort of wood/forest.

A masked horse? A girl wearing a tiara/crown? Some sort of Princess maybe?

And this? The red bits are lasers if that helps? Answer below!

The egg is She-Ra (Princess of Power and twin sister to He-man) with Swiftwind (her horse) They are hiding in Whispering Woods from a Horde Destcructo tank! Well done if you got that one :)

*We explained about the difference between Beefeaters and the guards who wear bearskin hats in front of the palace and she understood although is still going to call them Beefeaters as she reasoned that most of her class won't know the difference!