Some gems of mine

By gems I mean friends, those who add much needed sparkle to my sometimes lacklustre life. To you, I say a long overdue thank you, for these reasons:
* When I've desperately needed extra time to work on the new house without small people around, thank you for taking them, even if only for a few hours, to give me the chance to work furiously and to give them a much more interesting afternoon than they would otherwise have had (i.e. trying not to cut their legs on something or, literally, watching paint dry).
* On that note, thank you to my children for your patience, and for showing me that you are indeed capable of amusing yourselves and each other amicably; this knowledge will hopefully keep me sane during those times when you don't.
* When I've had enough of paint fumes and drinking lukewarm flask tea, thank you to those who have either brought me something delicious to consume or who have taken me out - actually out of the house, yes, really - and reminded me what normal people do on a Friday night.
* To all of you who have oohed and aahed and texted and told other friends about the house - thank you thank you thank you; you have unwittingly lifted me out of a bad place, even with a simple "oh, I love this" and endorsed our slog and financial mire.
* And a special thank you this week to the friends who have given gifts - the cutest pot plant in the world and a raffia heart, a bottle of bubbly, and the most surprising gift of all from Lisa, who has given me a car; I know you think it has nothing to do with the house, but in fact it has because we used our car fund to buy drains (wouldn't you have?) and I was facing forcing small legs to cycle up to 10 miles a day before Lisa's incredibly generous and thoughtful offer came.

We're nearly there, everyone. We move this weekend into our brand spanking new house! Still lots to do outside so we'll throw that massive bash you're all waiting for once that's done, but please please do come and have a look. And feel free to ooh and aah as much as you like!