"The Knackered Mother (knackeredus maternius) is most commonly seen in her natural habitat: the kitchen. Here, she slaves away putting food on the table for her children to flick all over the floor, occasionally falling silent to eat some of it herself. She exists on a diet of sandwich crusts, leftover fish fingers and mint KitKats with the odd half-cup of lukewarm tea if she's lucky. In daylight hours, when not with her cubs, she can be found manically trying to squeeze a week's work into three days whilst trying not to let the noise of under-fives, a needy dog and a weird cat be heard through the study door. At night, she can be found lying on the sofa, glass of (usually very good) wine within reach, trying to summon up the energy to cook/speak.
Not to be confused with the lesser-spotted
Shattered Father (bearded grumpius paternius). There have been reported
sightings of these creatures in the same habitat, but one of them was asleep.
I’m going to assume you are reading this
because you are, like me, a knackered mother or a wine lover. This book is
designed to help you explore, discover and, ultimately, choose wine with
confidence. It’s about ensuring that when you do decide to settle down with a
glass of wine after a busy day, having wrestled the kids into bed, it’s going
to be worth it. The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club is not a very exclusive club to say the least,
but basically, if you like wine, you're in: no dress code, no membership
policy, no fees.
On the shelf in my study at home is a row
of long-emptied wine bottles, each one marked with a date and occasion in
silver pen, including a bottle of 1988 Vintage Champagne that marks the year
the Husband and I got together as teenagers. It was a wedding present and we
drank it years later, to celebrate the birth of Eldest Boy. I haven’t been
lucky enough to have it since, but I’ll never forget how I felt when I drank it
(clue: not knackered). The thing is, I love wine. Really love it. And I don’t
just mean what’s in the glass. Obviously that’s a really big part, and I love
that that there’s always more to discover, but for me wine is about so much
more than that. It’s about bringing us together around a table, covered with
food (or at the very least a bowl of crisps). Wine makes us sit down (I
especially like that part) and converse. Wine connects us with places, with
stories and, best of all, with each other."

I don't want to depress you, but that still sounds very familar now that I'm a knackered grandmother! Will definitely check it out - cheers!
ReplyDeleteDo! And glad wine is still on the menu during grandmotherhood!
DeleteThis is on my wish list (actually, I probably won't wait till my wishes are granted as they rarely are) - I love the Knackered Mother's blog and I think the book can only enhance my library!
ReplyDeleteIt's great, and you'll be able to chip in with knowledgeable wine comments, worth the cover price alone!
DeleteThank you lovely Crumbs sisters x
ReplyDeleteOh I love this - sounds right up my alley! happy to follow you!
ReplyDeleteMary x
I love the KMWC, though feel very left out (sniff!) here in the Antipodes. I also love wine though, and that's something we have in spades Down Under. Chin chin!
ReplyDeletefamily first should be at the centre of our Australian way of life, not government bureaucracies. With the rising cost of living putting more and more pressure on families they need more income to function properly and make ends meet.
ReplyDelete