SERIOUSLY SHORT ON CASH

I am now seriously short on cash.  I had my last maternity allowance payment today: £36.  I think that means I have about £20 to last me until the next child benefit payment in 3 weeks' time!

EXCEPT.... well, what can I say except that it's completely pointless trying to guess what Fate intends for you.  Having thought that perhaps I should go for a well-paid job and give up the freelance type idea, I got a phone call regarding a possible singing pupil, and the same day an email confirming a commission for an article.

The possible pupil had a trial lesson today and I think it went OK.  I hadn't ever actually received the first email commissioning an article from me, but it was confirmed that it was needed and I got £10 more agreed than I had originally suggested.  £30 for 400 words and some photos: I haven't heard yet whether the article is acceptable but fingers crossed.  I should also get paid in the next month or two for two other articles as well, which I wrote about a year ago (! magazines are SO slow!) and for which I'm getting £50 and £70 - so actually I'm not really all that poor after all.  And once the children are back at school I shall start churning out articles (I hope).  I do think that one of the things I am definitely OK at is writing: I may not like my singing voice and I may have failed with my Opera programme, but I can write.  I think.

I'm also teaching a trial aerobics class tomorrow: not sure how much that will pay if I get accepted, but again it would be a small regular amount each week - and no childcare fees.

Enough about money though!  Today I had an interview at Tullie House (the museum in Carlisle) to become a Board Member/Trustee.  It's not a remunerated post but I think would be really interesting, and fun: a view which was confirmed by my interview as I really enjoyed chatting to them.  They're seeing 17 people so goodness knows whether I'll be accepted but che sera, sera, and it was a good experience - a bit like being back at work, talking about adult things and things which I feel a bit out of touch with such as what's happening in terms of development in Carlisle city centre.

The last couple of weeks have also been great for seeing friends whom I haven't seen for a while.  Friend C from Corbridge came over last week: we always seem to end up laughing about several things; and Friend L who I've known since University came past with her two sons and husband and eldest son's girlfriend.  It was great to see them and also the first time they'd seen the baby, who they loved.  Her eldest son is going off to University soon - he'd just heard that he'd got the grades for Edinburgh to read Ancient History, which sounds fab.

My writing is not good today but I don't care for once (I'm usually quite a pedant)!

Then at the weekend GodMotherL and I went for a walk - with the children.  All 3 of them.  Oldest Son was a star and not a word of a whinge passed his lips despite the fact that he had gone paddling in a stream in Bassenthwaite before we even started off, and had soaking socks (which he removed) and wet wellies - inside and out.  Daughter wasn't quite so easy and ended up sitting on the front of the buggy: and the Baby wanted milk halfway round and then had to be carried every-so-often to stop him crying.  The walk was also not a good route for a buggy, despite being in a book of ATP routes.  There was a particularly steep and NARROW downhill section; the other bit we didn't like was where we were meant to go through a field of cows, and then through more fields - we walked straight down the road instead as I think everyone's patience with the walk route itself and generally was wearing a bit thin by then. 

What I really must do is buy a good scale map of the north lakes: we have Brampton & Hadrian's Wall along to Haltwhistle or so; and we have the South Lakes or S-E lakes; we also have the Lakeland 100 maps (which are quite detailed) and the Coast to coast - but nothing which had Bassenthwaite on.  However on a positive note the rain held off until we were sitting by the stream having our picnic when we got back to the cars.

All is very quiet in the house, like the night before Christmas.  Time for me to go to bed.