5/31/2004
A lovely day in the garden
Having managed to go to bed before midnight last night (no such achievement tonight, I fear) I woke up before seven, and well before the children, and got lots done before anyone else got up. I was feeling all serene by myself, but that was soon shattered once they woke up :( M was being very TWO today, and whilst I normally have a policy of letting her have her own way wherever possible, today she was demanding the impossible, like cereal with milk on a plate rather than a bowl, because we don't have a bowl that is red, which was what she wanted. Aarrgghh!!
Anyway, as the day went on I got a lot done in the garden. Mum and Dad came round because Jonathan had promised he would set them up with the internet today, and they did some gardening and stayed for lunch too. In the afternoon C's best friend Beth came round with her brother Alex and mum Fiona. M fell asleep for most of the afternoon, the big girls played together and poor Alex mostly played by himself (he and M are great friends) , and Fiona gave me lots of help shifting earth and stones ready for my herb garden.
This morning we had a visit from a racing pigeon. It came down to the garden and pecked around, studiously avoiding everything we put down for it - bread, apples, water, chicken food - and pecking at bits of dirt. Then just as we were finishing lunch I noticed it in the living room. It had come in at one end of the house and wandered through three rooms to get to where it was (and only pooed once, as far as I've discovered, and that was only on the stone flags). So Jonathan picked it up and put it back outside and it wandered around for some of the afternoon, then I didn't see it again, so I hope it's found its way home.
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Having managed to go to bed before midnight last night (no such achievement tonight, I fear) I woke up before seven, and well before the children, and got lots done before anyone else got up. I was feeling all serene by myself, but that was soon shattered once they woke up :( M was being very TWO today, and whilst I normally have a policy of letting her have her own way wherever possible, today she was demanding the impossible, like cereal with milk on a plate rather than a bowl, because we don't have a bowl that is red, which was what she wanted. Aarrgghh!!
Anyway, as the day went on I got a lot done in the garden. Mum and Dad came round because Jonathan had promised he would set them up with the internet today, and they did some gardening and stayed for lunch too. In the afternoon C's best friend Beth came round with her brother Alex and mum Fiona. M fell asleep for most of the afternoon, the big girls played together and poor Alex mostly played by himself (he and M are great friends) , and Fiona gave me lots of help shifting earth and stones ready for my herb garden.
This morning we had a visit from a racing pigeon. It came down to the garden and pecked around, studiously avoiding everything we put down for it - bread, apples, water, chicken food - and pecking at bits of dirt. Then just as we were finishing lunch I noticed it in the living room. It had come in at one end of the house and wandered through three rooms to get to where it was (and only pooed once, as far as I've discovered, and that was only on the stone flags). So Jonathan picked it up and put it back outside and it wandered around for some of the afternoon, then I didn't see it again, so I hope it's found its way home.
5/30/2004
We haven't done any of our normal Sunday things at all today. My elder half-sister Pamela stayed over with us last night, and left at lunchtime, so we didn't go to church. Then this evening there was no music practice and no puppet practice because Mandy and Steve are away.
So instead we went to Simon's party. I think it's hard to think he's only one - he seems to have been around for ages. I guess it's because he made his camp debut at such a young age. It was good to see Barbara, although she was wishing she was otherwise occupied, and good to meet Sarah and Roo, and the children mostly played nicely.
I'm hoping for a few days with fewer people in, as we've been very busy recently, and as we tend to go out less in school holidays, it might happen...
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So instead we went to Simon's party. I think it's hard to think he's only one - he seems to have been around for ages. I guess it's because he made his camp debut at such a young age. It was good to see Barbara, although she was wishing she was otherwise occupied, and good to meet Sarah and Roo, and the children mostly played nicely.
I'm hoping for a few days with fewer people in, as we've been very busy recently, and as we tend to go out less in school holidays, it might happen...
5/29/2004
My Dad
I wanted to write something about Dad to celebrate his birthday. It's long but interesting imo.
My Dad's own Dad was an early and apparently quite important radiologist who died when Dad was four years old, from X-radiation-related leukaemia. Both his parents were Southern Irish Protestants who left Dublin sometime in the early 1920's to come to England. His mum remarried a couple of years later and they travelled quite a bit, spending time in Majorca and Switzerland.
At 14, Dad was sent to Epsom College as a boarder, and whilst there he dabbled in electronics and radio, and built his own radio so he could listen to jazz. He was 15 when World War 2 began, and completed his A-levels in 1942. He then went to Bristol University where he did a speeded up degree in physics with wireless, graduating in 1944.
He then worked for Phillips in Balham, South London, making mobile transmitters which were to be taken to Holland as the Allies advanced, which was safer than combat service, apart from the time he gave himself a nasty burn on a 2000v power supply unit!
He married and bought a house near Wimbledon, and continued to work for Phillips until 1949, when he got a job as an electronic engineer at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington. He worked for a time in the new discipline of ultrasonics, and then moved to the computing department where he worked on the ACE (here, and here ) with Donald Davies but after Alan Turing had left. They developed with first VDU using a cathode ray tube.
In the 1960's the same small team coined the term, and developed, packet switching which was key to the development of ARPANET and, later, the internet.(1967)
He had two daughters, born in 1951 and 1954, and then in 1964, his wife died of lung cancer. He was a single parent for four years until he met and married my Mum in 1968, and I came along in 1970. He continued working at the NPL until 1978, then had a couple of other jobs in electronic engineering and was self-employed for a while, when, among other things, he developed a flight simulator for the RAF. He finished up working for RACAL and retired about 16 years ago. He is also a self-taught pianist, and enjoyed playing jazz with friends and in local pubs, and he did voluntary work for the RNIB, maintaining talking book machines.
After retirement Mum and Dad travelled a lot - Iceland, Canada, Seychelles, New Zealand, Greece, Scandinavia. About three years ago they were beginning to find their garden a bit big for them, and they wanted to be near family, so they moved from Surrey to Yorkshire to be near us. Six months later, Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
He really enjoys the children, and M, in particular, has a lovely relationship with him, but he no longer has the concentration for any of his former interests, although he does still play the piano a bit. I am sad that my children will not have the memories I have, of Dad sitting down with me to explain something complicated, like how a radio or a car works, or ultrasound or hexadecimal, but I hope they will have memories of him as kind and loving, and having a lot of time for them.
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I wanted to write something about Dad to celebrate his birthday. It's long but interesting imo.
My Dad's own Dad was an early and apparently quite important radiologist who died when Dad was four years old, from X-radiation-related leukaemia. Both his parents were Southern Irish Protestants who left Dublin sometime in the early 1920's to come to England. His mum remarried a couple of years later and they travelled quite a bit, spending time in Majorca and Switzerland.
At 14, Dad was sent to Epsom College as a boarder, and whilst there he dabbled in electronics and radio, and built his own radio so he could listen to jazz. He was 15 when World War 2 began, and completed his A-levels in 1942. He then went to Bristol University where he did a speeded up degree in physics with wireless, graduating in 1944.
He then worked for Phillips in Balham, South London, making mobile transmitters which were to be taken to Holland as the Allies advanced, which was safer than combat service, apart from the time he gave himself a nasty burn on a 2000v power supply unit!
He married and bought a house near Wimbledon, and continued to work for Phillips until 1949, when he got a job as an electronic engineer at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington. He worked for a time in the new discipline of ultrasonics, and then moved to the computing department where he worked on the ACE (here, and here ) with Donald Davies but after Alan Turing had left. They developed with first VDU using a cathode ray tube.
In the 1960's the same small team coined the term, and developed, packet switching which was key to the development of ARPANET and, later, the internet.(1967)
He had two daughters, born in 1951 and 1954, and then in 1964, his wife died of lung cancer. He was a single parent for four years until he met and married my Mum in 1968, and I came along in 1970. He continued working at the NPL until 1978, then had a couple of other jobs in electronic engineering and was self-employed for a while, when, among other things, he developed a flight simulator for the RAF. He finished up working for RACAL and retired about 16 years ago. He is also a self-taught pianist, and enjoyed playing jazz with friends and in local pubs, and he did voluntary work for the RNIB, maintaining talking book machines.
After retirement Mum and Dad travelled a lot - Iceland, Canada, Seychelles, New Zealand, Greece, Scandinavia. About three years ago they were beginning to find their garden a bit big for them, and they wanted to be near family, so they moved from Surrey to Yorkshire to be near us. Six months later, Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
He really enjoys the children, and M, in particular, has a lovely relationship with him, but he no longer has the concentration for any of his former interests, although he does still play the piano a bit. I am sad that my children will not have the memories I have, of Dad sitting down with me to explain something complicated, like how a radio or a car works, or ultrasound or hexadecimal, but I hope they will have memories of him as kind and loving, and having a lot of time for them.
Dad's 80th Birthday Party
Jonathan's Dad left this morning after doing an excellent job of painting the summerhouse the past few days. Then I sent Jonathan and the children off to the supermarket while I did some last minute tidying, and the guests for Dad's party started arriving around 12.30.
Altogether there were about 20 people, and Mum had prepared lots of lovely food, not all of which was consumed. (looks like we've got lots of pudding and yummy salads to get through in the next few days, what a shame!) My cousin came with her two daughters who are a year younger than each of mine, and brought her parents; and my two half-sisters came, one with her partner and her 19 year old daughter. Then there were a few local friends too.
Dad had a great day, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The children had a wonderful time getting very wet and muddy in the garden, and they all had a bath together before my cousin had to leave. They won't be able to do that for much longer - it was quite a squash. My elder half-sister, who has come up from London, is staying overnight with us, but everyone else has gone home now.
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Jonathan's Dad left this morning after doing an excellent job of painting the summerhouse the past few days. Then I sent Jonathan and the children off to the supermarket while I did some last minute tidying, and the guests for Dad's party started arriving around 12.30.
Altogether there were about 20 people, and Mum had prepared lots of lovely food, not all of which was consumed. (looks like we've got lots of pudding and yummy salads to get through in the next few days, what a shame!) My cousin came with her two daughters who are a year younger than each of mine, and brought her parents; and my two half-sisters came, one with her partner and her 19 year old daughter. Then there were a few local friends too.
Dad had a great day, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The children had a wonderful time getting very wet and muddy in the garden, and they all had a bath together before my cousin had to leave. They won't be able to do that for much longer - it was quite a squash. My elder half-sister, who has come up from London, is staying overnight with us, but everyone else has gone home now.
5/27/2004
I managed to get some cleaning done today ready for my Dad's birthday party on Saturday, but the children were really bickery, so I gave up on the housework for the afternoon to spend some time with them and we had a lovely time. They both enjoyed learning about dusting this morning - not something I do very often as there aren't many flat surfaces not covered with clutter.
M switched on the computer for herself this morning, so I put on Reader Rabbit Toddler for her. She's hardly had any computer time to herself - the computer is something that C does if I want to spend some time with M or do something else.
This afternoon we took some books and cushions into the garden but it was hard to read in the sun and I nearly fell asleep. M was getting increasingly whingey so I persuaded her to have a sleep. (Took her up to her room, shut the door and sat down on the inside of it and sang lullabies to her till she was asleep. It was pretty quick today, twice through Summertime and twice through Little Boy Kneels at the Foot of the Bed and she was off for two hours) She doesn't normally sleep in the day but she has a bit of a cold.
Then C and I finished making a junk elephant I came across in my tidying (photo may follow) then did some science experiments to do with air - a balloon rocket and a wind winch. They were fiddly to put together but well worth it.
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M switched on the computer for herself this morning, so I put on Reader Rabbit Toddler for her. She's hardly had any computer time to herself - the computer is something that C does if I want to spend some time with M or do something else.
This afternoon we took some books and cushions into the garden but it was hard to read in the sun and I nearly fell asleep. M was getting increasingly whingey so I persuaded her to have a sleep. (Took her up to her room, shut the door and sat down on the inside of it and sang lullabies to her till she was asleep. It was pretty quick today, twice through Summertime and twice through Little Boy Kneels at the Foot of the Bed and she was off for two hours) She doesn't normally sleep in the day but she has a bit of a cold.
Then C and I finished making a junk elephant I came across in my tidying (photo may follow) then did some science experiments to do with air - a balloon rocket and a wind winch. They were fiddly to put together but well worth it.
5/26/2004
We've had a busy day today. M went to playgroup this morning, and C and I had a good hour to ourselves, then I was organised enough to collect her on the way to the swimming pool so we weren't horribly late for swimming. There's a swimbabes session just after the informal HE swimming, and we have on occasion arrived so late that it wasn't worth going in at all. There was only one other (pre-) home-ed family there today, but there was someone else we knew just leaving as we arrived, and someone who knew M from nursery just arriving as we left, so it was nice to meet her and her mum. And the pool wasn't terribly warm today but we did have it entirely to ourselves, so C involved Matilda and her mum in a game about being a family of crocodiles and catching food for supper.
M fell asleep on the way home and slept for two hours, so I expect I'll pay for that in the morning. C has spent a couple of hours this afternoon playing a Magic School Bus CDROM about bugs which we picked up cheap from Toys R Us as few weeks ago. It was surprisingly difficut to install something on the computer that's actually entitled BUGS, it felt very wrong! Meanwhile M helped me with some cleaning. We cleaned the floor in the downstairs loo, which consisted of her getting lots of water on it and me mopping it up and wiping it at the same time. Still, she enjoyed it. And she loves helping with the vacuuming too, but I have to look at her helping as an investment in the future rather than a time-saving assistance in the present. She likes to help me put away the clean clothes too. Long may it last!
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M fell asleep on the way home and slept for two hours, so I expect I'll pay for that in the morning. C has spent a couple of hours this afternoon playing a Magic School Bus CDROM about bugs which we picked up cheap from Toys R Us as few weeks ago. It was surprisingly difficut to install something on the computer that's actually entitled BUGS, it felt very wrong! Meanwhile M helped me with some cleaning. We cleaned the floor in the downstairs loo, which consisted of her getting lots of water on it and me mopping it up and wiping it at the same time. Still, she enjoyed it. And she loves helping with the vacuuming too, but I have to look at her helping as an investment in the future rather than a time-saving assistance in the present. She likes to help me put away the clean clothes too. Long may it last!
5/24/2004
Tired children
Last week when I picked M up from Montessori, a Dad was there picking up his daughter and he had with him another girl who looked about seven. And before I'd worked out a polite way to say "Not at school today then?" they had gone. So I wondered if there was another HE family in the village. Then today I saw just the mum collecting and realised she was someone I met once at a HE day conference, and she lives a few miles away but her Dad is the pastor of the church where the Monte nursery is, so that's the connection. Anyway, it was good to make contact again.
C was very tired today so we curled up on the sofa with a pile of books while M was out - how wonderful to be able to be so flexible. Other than that I told C a bit about musical notation, stuck letters on the piano keys and she learnt how to play Mary had a Little Lamb.
In the afternoon we planted some peas, pulled out some weeds, spread some earth, then went round to C's best friend's house to play. C was very excited because her first tooth fell out yesterday, and she's been telling everyone, but Beth had fallen asleep on the way home from school and was still pretty tired, and she hardly looked up from her playstation when C came in. She perked up after a bit and they had a nice play.
Then we walked home and started getting them ready for bed. My mum came round to babysit, as Jonathan and I were going out to dinner with my work colleagues, and, while we were out, Jonathan's Dad arrived to stay for a few days. He had meant to leave home (Portsmouth) late morning and arrive late afternoon, but we were not surprised when he phoned at 3.00 to say he was just leaving. He's come to help us with painting our new summerhouse, which is very kind. I often wonder if we'll do so much for our kids in 30 years time as our parents do for us.
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Last week when I picked M up from Montessori, a Dad was there picking up his daughter and he had with him another girl who looked about seven. And before I'd worked out a polite way to say "Not at school today then?" they had gone. So I wondered if there was another HE family in the village. Then today I saw just the mum collecting and realised she was someone I met once at a HE day conference, and she lives a few miles away but her Dad is the pastor of the church where the Monte nursery is, so that's the connection. Anyway, it was good to make contact again.
C was very tired today so we curled up on the sofa with a pile of books while M was out - how wonderful to be able to be so flexible. Other than that I told C a bit about musical notation, stuck letters on the piano keys and she learnt how to play Mary had a Little Lamb.
In the afternoon we planted some peas, pulled out some weeds, spread some earth, then went round to C's best friend's house to play. C was very excited because her first tooth fell out yesterday, and she's been telling everyone, but Beth had fallen asleep on the way home from school and was still pretty tired, and she hardly looked up from her playstation when C came in. She perked up after a bit and they had a nice play.
Then we walked home and started getting them ready for bed. My mum came round to babysit, as Jonathan and I were going out to dinner with my work colleagues, and, while we were out, Jonathan's Dad arrived to stay for a few days. He had meant to leave home (Portsmouth) late morning and arrive late afternoon, but we were not surprised when he phoned at 3.00 to say he was just leaving. He's come to help us with painting our new summerhouse, which is very kind. I often wonder if we'll do so much for our kids in 30 years time as our parents do for us.
5/23/2004
Puppet weekend
On Saturday I went to the Northern puppet festival of one way uk in Leeds as part of the puppet team from our church. Ten of us went, three adults and seven young people, aged ten to sixteen, and we entered a competition with a song we'd been practising, in which we came last :( But we also watched some very inspiring performances. The team from Grimsby Baptist church, of all places, are superb, and they showed us bits of the puppet 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat', which they're putting on later in the year, which was spectacular. And someone did some excellent ventriloquism, so I may have a go at that sometime.
While the rest of the team went off to spend the night at someone's house, Jonathan and the girls picked me up and we visited Sally and David, some old friends who live nearby. We haven't seen them for much too long, and we had a lovely time. C and M played well with their children Sarah and Mark, which was good considering we hadn't seen them for ages.
Today the puppet team re-convened at Chapel A Baptist Church in Leeds, to do some songs and sketches for their children, and some sock-puppet making. I really enjoy the performances, and getting creative with planning and designing, but the young people can be hard work sometimes. Then back to Sally and David's for a delicious lunch in the shade in their garden before heading home.
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On Saturday I went to the Northern puppet festival of one way uk in Leeds as part of the puppet team from our church. Ten of us went, three adults and seven young people, aged ten to sixteen, and we entered a competition with a song we'd been practising, in which we came last :( But we also watched some very inspiring performances. The team from Grimsby Baptist church, of all places, are superb, and they showed us bits of the puppet 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat', which they're putting on later in the year, which was spectacular. And someone did some excellent ventriloquism, so I may have a go at that sometime.
While the rest of the team went off to spend the night at someone's house, Jonathan and the girls picked me up and we visited Sally and David, some old friends who live nearby. We haven't seen them for much too long, and we had a lovely time. C and M played well with their children Sarah and Mark, which was good considering we hadn't seen them for ages.
Today the puppet team re-convened at Chapel A Baptist Church in Leeds, to do some songs and sketches for their children, and some sock-puppet making. I really enjoy the performances, and getting creative with planning and designing, but the young people can be hard work sometimes. Then back to Sally and David's for a delicious lunch in the shade in their garden before heading home.
5/21/2004
A Houseful of Hamptons
When we have stressful visitors I love to go and hide in my study, but real life chats with good friends are more important than most things, so blog has been neglected this week. Jonathan and I know Caroline and Paul from our church youth group in Portsmouth where I lived in 1993 (and where I met Jonathan too) and we didn't keep close contact with them for a few years, but the common bond of home-educating young children has strengthened our friendship.
On Tuesday evening, Caroline and Paul and their five children came to stay. C was incredibly excited and has had a lovely time with them all. Tuesday was my Dad's 80th birthday. We didn't do much to celebrate on the day as we're having a party at the end of next week, and I plan to write something about him then.
The weather was OK on Wednesday, but not very warm, so we went for a walk from our house, and looked at Highland Cattle, horses, geese, a moorhen and some ducks and ducklings. We walked in our friends' little wood, and on the way back spent ages feeding a friendly horse called Fred, who was leaning over his gate, with picked grass and willow herb.
It was sunnier on Thursday so we spent the afternoon in the garden. The children got very grubby with sand, water and lots of mud - we've had a pile of earth delivered to spread over my potential herb bed, and they had a lot of fun with that. Paul and Caroline did a great job of assembling our newly arrived climbing frame, and our summerhouse was unexpectedly delivered and assembled (we were expecting it in another three weeks but had originally hoped it would be there in time for Dad's birthday party). And Mum and Dad came round too, so I counted up and there were fourteen people busy in the garden. (And Jonathan busy at work inside)
The evenings have been lovely this week. I stepped outside to shut the chickens in on Wednesday and just stood for a few minutes listening to a cuckoo some way off and I saw an owl sitting on a wire then flying off. I think it was a little owl. And the sunsets have been beautiful. Some of the fields of grass round us have been cut to make hay and that produces a lovely patchwork effect on a hillside seen from a distance.
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When we have stressful visitors I love to go and hide in my study, but real life chats with good friends are more important than most things, so blog has been neglected this week. Jonathan and I know Caroline and Paul from our church youth group in Portsmouth where I lived in 1993 (and where I met Jonathan too) and we didn't keep close contact with them for a few years, but the common bond of home-educating young children has strengthened our friendship.
On Tuesday evening, Caroline and Paul and their five children came to stay. C was incredibly excited and has had a lovely time with them all. Tuesday was my Dad's 80th birthday. We didn't do much to celebrate on the day as we're having a party at the end of next week, and I plan to write something about him then.
The weather was OK on Wednesday, but not very warm, so we went for a walk from our house, and looked at Highland Cattle, horses, geese, a moorhen and some ducks and ducklings. We walked in our friends' little wood, and on the way back spent ages feeding a friendly horse called Fred, who was leaning over his gate, with picked grass and willow herb.
It was sunnier on Thursday so we spent the afternoon in the garden. The children got very grubby with sand, water and lots of mud - we've had a pile of earth delivered to spread over my potential herb bed, and they had a lot of fun with that. Paul and Caroline did a great job of assembling our newly arrived climbing frame, and our summerhouse was unexpectedly delivered and assembled (we were expecting it in another three weeks but had originally hoped it would be there in time for Dad's birthday party). And Mum and Dad came round too, so I counted up and there were fourteen people busy in the garden. (And Jonathan busy at work inside)
The evenings have been lovely this week. I stepped outside to shut the chickens in on Wednesday and just stood for a few minutes listening to a cuckoo some way off and I saw an owl sitting on a wire then flying off. I think it was a little owl. And the sunsets have been beautiful. Some of the fields of grass round us have been cut to make hay and that produces a lovely patchwork effect on a hillside seen from a distance.
5/17/2004
M went off happily to Montessori this morning and I had a good couple of hours with C. We started making a pom-pom, but it's a slow business, so we'll do a bit more another day, then we did some science experiments involving getting sticky with fruit juice, and doing stuff with fizz, including watching raisins bobbing up and down in a glass of fizzy water, and making sherbet. I've heard it's quite hard to get citric acid in non-industrial quantities at the moment, so I was quite chuffed to discover a little packet of it in my Sonlight science pack for just this purpose.
We went straight from picking M up to Sainsbury's, and had lunch in the cafe there. Sainsbury's is next to the canal basin where lots of canal boats are moored, so we went to have a look at those, but the girls were more interested in a supermarket trolley someone had thrown in the water.
By evening they were getting quite ratty with each other. We had a long and exciting day out yesterday at my cousin's daughter's fourth birthday party, and they were very late to bed, so I guess a bit of hitting and screaming is only to be expected. Mostly they get on really well though. Being an only child myself I had never really considered sibling relationships until I had two children myself, and I have been so pleased to see the love between them developing. C is a fantastic older sister, she lets M have her own way almost all the time (eg, which end of the bath she wants to sit, which plate / cup / fork, all of which are of great imprtance to M at the moment) and is really careful to look out for M's interests. Quite often they snuggle up together to sleep at night, which is very cute.
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We went straight from picking M up to Sainsbury's, and had lunch in the cafe there. Sainsbury's is next to the canal basin where lots of canal boats are moored, so we went to have a look at those, but the girls were more interested in a supermarket trolley someone had thrown in the water.
By evening they were getting quite ratty with each other. We had a long and exciting day out yesterday at my cousin's daughter's fourth birthday party, and they were very late to bed, so I guess a bit of hitting and screaming is only to be expected. Mostly they get on really well though. Being an only child myself I had never really considered sibling relationships until I had two children myself, and I have been so pleased to see the love between them developing. C is a fantastic older sister, she lets M have her own way almost all the time (eg, which end of the bath she wants to sit, which plate / cup / fork, all of which are of great imprtance to M at the moment) and is really careful to look out for M's interests. Quite often they snuggle up together to sleep at night, which is very cute.
5/15/2004
What a beautiful day it's been today.
We had a slow morning. Breakfast was little pancakes about 10.30, then we walked down to the village to look at a kitten. She's tabby and white, her black brother found a home earlier this morning, and her tabby and white sister is going to stay with their mum. She and her sister were very sweet, and quite fond of each other, so I thought it would be a shame to separate them, and since we would like two anyway, we wondered if we could have them both, but the lady who was there said it was her partner who was set on keeping one. So if he doesn't change his mind we'll keep looking for now. Even M was quite taken with them, and was quite happy to stroke them.
On our way back, we stopped to look at some lambs and some horses, and C picked lots of dandelions and dandelion clocks. We called in at Katya's to look at their amazing frog-filled pond and to admire their garden. Then we came back to do some work in ours. C found some solid clay in one patch and has spent quite a lot of the afternoon sculpting with it. Mum and Dad were round helping and they stayed for tea. And now the evenings are getting lighter I even got some more work done outside after the children were in bed. I came back in to find M asleep, C still awake and reading, and Jonathan fast asleep between them.
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We had a slow morning. Breakfast was little pancakes about 10.30, then we walked down to the village to look at a kitten. She's tabby and white, her black brother found a home earlier this morning, and her tabby and white sister is going to stay with their mum. She and her sister were very sweet, and quite fond of each other, so I thought it would be a shame to separate them, and since we would like two anyway, we wondered if we could have them both, but the lady who was there said it was her partner who was set on keeping one. So if he doesn't change his mind we'll keep looking for now. Even M was quite taken with them, and was quite happy to stroke them.
On our way back, we stopped to look at some lambs and some horses, and C picked lots of dandelions and dandelion clocks. We called in at Katya's to look at their amazing frog-filled pond and to admire their garden. Then we came back to do some work in ours. C found some solid clay in one patch and has spent quite a lot of the afternoon sculpting with it. Mum and Dad were round helping and they stayed for tea. And now the evenings are getting lighter I even got some more work done outside after the children were in bed. I came back in to find M asleep, C still awake and reading, and Jonathan fast asleep between them.
5/13/2004
Today was the day for playgroup photos, so Jonathan persuaded the girls into matching clothes, had their pictures done by the excellent photographer and came home for breakfast (no point getting weetabix down clean tops, now is there?)
Then a bit later Jax, Alison and Simon came round. Children played mostly nicely (I seem to be saying that a lot recently, but it still surprises me) and Jax and I chatted, and Simon found that walking and pushing a brick trolley was a good way to get from one side of a room to the other, although he needed turning round by an adult when he wanted to go back. C and A spent a while digging for worms in the garden and they collected them all together into a pride where the baby worms could be looked after by their mummies and daddies. And they played Robin Hood with the castle for absolutely ages.
The children were in the bath at 7.45 and I was looking forward to a quiet evening when I suddenly remembered I had a District Church Council (DCC) meeting which started at ... 7.45. So I rushed out to that, but I just wasn't in the mood. Best news to come from it is that, as part of the big fundraising thing we do each November for Crisis, the homeless charity, we're going to have an outing to the best Indian restaurant in the village which does a charity night each week, where you pay £10, and they give £5 back for the charity you're fundraising for. Sounds better than a coffee morning.
It's going to be very quiet on the blogring next week. All you HESFES people have a wonderful time, I'm feeling quite jealous now. Perhaps next year. And Caroline's coming here for half the week too, so the ring'll be even quieter. (but my house wil be noisy!)
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Then a bit later Jax, Alison and Simon came round. Children played mostly nicely (I seem to be saying that a lot recently, but it still surprises me) and Jax and I chatted, and Simon found that walking and pushing a brick trolley was a good way to get from one side of a room to the other, although he needed turning round by an adult when he wanted to go back. C and A spent a while digging for worms in the garden and they collected them all together into a pride where the baby worms could be looked after by their mummies and daddies. And they played Robin Hood with the castle for absolutely ages.
The children were in the bath at 7.45 and I was looking forward to a quiet evening when I suddenly remembered I had a District Church Council (DCC) meeting which started at ... 7.45. So I rushed out to that, but I just wasn't in the mood. Best news to come from it is that, as part of the big fundraising thing we do each November for Crisis, the homeless charity, we're going to have an outing to the best Indian restaurant in the village which does a charity night each week, where you pay £10, and they give £5 back for the charity you're fundraising for. Sounds better than a coffee morning.
It's going to be very quiet on the blogring next week. All you HESFES people have a wonderful time, I'm feeling quite jealous now. Perhaps next year. And Caroline's coming here for half the week too, so the ring'll be even quieter. (but my house wil be noisy!)
5/12/2004
Marks out of ten are not necessarily how bad things are but just how bad I feel about them on any given day. It helps with that feeling when you think everything's terrible because you feel you've really failed at something, to realise that even though you're not quite keeping all the balls in the air, you haven't actually dropped all of them, just one or two.
Anyway, today...
We went swimming this morning. For once we were slightly early rather than late, and we met the other 2 HE families as they were coming in and we were going out, rather than the other way round as it usually is! The girls enjoyed it and I reckon that if we get M a better set of armbands and go swimming most days when we're at Kessingland, she'll be swimming by the end of that week.
Then we had some errands to do in Huddersfield. Wellies seem to be the theme of the day - C needed some new bigger ones. She wanted green so she could be like her best friend Beth, and she was very pleased when her other friend Katya's first comment about them was "They're green, just like Beth's!" By the time we were heading back to the car M was tired out, I'd left the buggy at home and I was carrying the shopping, so she was having to walk, and she had a MAJOR tantrum because she didn't get to press the button at the pedestrian crossing (the green man was already showing and we were halfway across the road when I realised.) If I'd known it was going to be such a big deal I would have gone back, but by the time we got back to the car park, she was ready to crawl away through the broken glass and gravel of the car park to get back to that crossing button, but screaming too incoherently to make any sense. Anyway, I was nasty coercive Mummy and wrestled her into the car. She cried on and off as she fell asleep on the way home, then I moved her to her bed and she had a good nap. I woke her at 4.00 and her first words were "I want to press the button!" Oh, I felt such a mean Mummy.
Katya's little sister Vikka came round to play for a couple of hours this afternoon. Katya and their Mum came to collect her about 5.00 and brought a wheelbarrow so they could take home some of our mountain of horse manure for their garden. I'm amazed how much we used up last year, but we've got lots to spare, so if anyone would like some...
Then we had to go to Safeway for some food. I've been reading Captive State by George Monbiot, and in particular the chapter about how the supermarkets exert a powerful monopoly to crush the farmers, reduce choice, increase unemployment, lull consumers into convenience-food habits etc, so I went with a heavy heart, but I needed some food. I should read less.
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Anyway, today...
We went swimming this morning. For once we were slightly early rather than late, and we met the other 2 HE families as they were coming in and we were going out, rather than the other way round as it usually is! The girls enjoyed it and I reckon that if we get M a better set of armbands and go swimming most days when we're at Kessingland, she'll be swimming by the end of that week.
Then we had some errands to do in Huddersfield. Wellies seem to be the theme of the day - C needed some new bigger ones. She wanted green so she could be like her best friend Beth, and she was very pleased when her other friend Katya's first comment about them was "They're green, just like Beth's!" By the time we were heading back to the car M was tired out, I'd left the buggy at home and I was carrying the shopping, so she was having to walk, and she had a MAJOR tantrum because she didn't get to press the button at the pedestrian crossing (the green man was already showing and we were halfway across the road when I realised.) If I'd known it was going to be such a big deal I would have gone back, but by the time we got back to the car park, she was ready to crawl away through the broken glass and gravel of the car park to get back to that crossing button, but screaming too incoherently to make any sense. Anyway, I was nasty coercive Mummy and wrestled her into the car. She cried on and off as she fell asleep on the way home, then I moved her to her bed and she had a good nap. I woke her at 4.00 and her first words were "I want to press the button!" Oh, I felt such a mean Mummy.
Katya's little sister Vikka came round to play for a couple of hours this afternoon. Katya and their Mum came to collect her about 5.00 and brought a wheelbarrow so they could take home some of our mountain of horse manure for their garden. I'm amazed how much we used up last year, but we've got lots to spare, so if anyone would like some...
Then we had to go to Safeway for some food. I've been reading Captive State by George Monbiot, and in particular the chapter about how the supermarkets exert a powerful monopoly to crush the farmers, reduce choice, increase unemployment, lull consumers into convenience-food habits etc, so I went with a heavy heart, but I needed some food. I should read less.
5/11/2004
btw, Jonathan says email reception may be patchy in the next day or two, so bear that in mind, anyone who actually needs to communicate with me.
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One thing that helped me deal with 'Oh no, everything's crap and I'm crap at everything!' was realising that at any given time I'm trying to keep lots of different bits of life under control (I like control!) and that there may be only one part which overwhelms me. I can then keep in view that I may actually be doing OK at something else.
I may try giving them all a mark out of ten:
Educating the children. 8/10. We do stuff, they're learning, I'm not getting stressed about it
Keeping the house reasonable. 5/10. Most of the house is a big mess but today Jonathan did a big tidying job on the entrance hall, a squarish room that was reduced to a narrow passage strewn with clutter, shoes and coats.
Keeping up with the garden 6/10. I've done some recently, and parts of it look OK.
Keeping up with work 0/10. Not had a good day today. I struggle to keep up to date and I feel I spread myself too thinly.
Keeping the family well fed 7/10. nutritionally balanced, ethically sound meals. Not been doing too badly just lately.
Keeping up with friends / neighbours / family 8/10. I've seen some people recently, even written to one or two I've been meaning to get in touch with for ages.
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I may try giving them all a mark out of ten:
Educating the children. 8/10. We do stuff, they're learning, I'm not getting stressed about it
Keeping the house reasonable. 5/10. Most of the house is a big mess but today Jonathan did a big tidying job on the entrance hall, a squarish room that was reduced to a narrow passage strewn with clutter, shoes and coats.
Keeping up with the garden 6/10. I've done some recently, and parts of it look OK.
Keeping up with work 0/10. Not had a good day today. I struggle to keep up to date and I feel I spread myself too thinly.
Keeping the family well fed 7/10. nutritionally balanced, ethically sound meals. Not been doing too badly just lately.
Keeping up with friends / neighbours / family 8/10. I've seen some people recently, even written to one or two I've been meaning to get in touch with for ages.
5/10/2004
M had her first day at Montessori today. Our decision for the moment is for her to try both regular playgroup and Montessori and for her to form her own opinions. Obvious really. The only drawback of that approach is that she is out quite a lot - Monte on Monday mornings, nursery all day Tuesday while we're both at work, and playgroup Wednesday and Friday mornings. But it's all optional except Tuesdays, so we'll watch carefully and see how she gets on, perhaps cutting one or other of the playgroup sessions.
She was briefly hesitant about C and I leaving this morning, but when we came back at the end the children had all been out for a walk and she was holding the assistant's hand when she caught sight of me, and she just called out "Hello Mummy!" and carried on with what she was doing, rather than running over to me. She looked quite proud to be a big independent girl, and of course Monte staff treat the children with such respect I guess that helps as well.
C and I sewed a green felt fish this morning.
She was really pleased with herself and wants to make a yellow one with my Mum tomorrow.
In the afternoon we were in the garden. M helped me plant some Sweet Williams, and they both helped me sow some French beans. We went for tea with C's best friend Beth, and her brother Alex, and our other neighbours Katya and Vikka and their mum came along too. On the way there we fed the ducks and blew lots of dandelion clocks. On the way back we spent a while looking at the frogs in Katya's pond and saw the first swifts of the summer.
Better go now and cut out some yellow felt...
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She was briefly hesitant about C and I leaving this morning, but when we came back at the end the children had all been out for a walk and she was holding the assistant's hand when she caught sight of me, and she just called out "Hello Mummy!" and carried on with what she was doing, rather than running over to me. She looked quite proud to be a big independent girl, and of course Monte staff treat the children with such respect I guess that helps as well.
C and I sewed a green felt fish this morning.
She was really pleased with herself and wants to make a yellow one with my Mum tomorrow.
In the afternoon we were in the garden. M helped me plant some Sweet Williams, and they both helped me sow some French beans. We went for tea with C's best friend Beth, and her brother Alex, and our other neighbours Katya and Vikka and their mum came along too. On the way there we fed the ducks and blew lots of dandelion clocks. On the way back we spent a while looking at the frogs in Katya's pond and saw the first swifts of the summer.
Better go now and cut out some yellow felt...
5/09/2004
btw, scroll down for photo of M and her 2 1/2 birthday cake
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Busy Sunday
We were out late at a party last night, well, not that late for us, but we took the children and didn't leave till after eleven. So it was a bit of an effort to get everyone out in time for church this morning. And stepping out of the door into the warm, still garden, with the birds singing, I nearly didn't even make it as far as the car. But I was glad we went.
This is Christian Aid week and each church is allocated different streets to deliver envelopes, then collect them, hopefully with money in, a couple of days later. So, for the first time, I delivered a streetful of envelopes. I'll let you know how collecting them goes on Tuesday.
Mum and Dad came for lunch, and I meant to get some work done in the garden this afternoon, but somehow the afternoon disappeared and then our regular Sunday afternoon visitors, Mandy and Steve and their children Callum and Bethan, and also Mandy's Mum and an extra child, Kate, came, and we practised some music, and had tea, and I went out to church puppet team rehearsal, and Jonathan and Steve went out to a gig that is part of the Holmfirth Folk Festival , primarily to hear an excellent band from Skye called the Peatbog Faeries and my Mum came back to put the children to bed.
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We were out late at a party last night, well, not that late for us, but we took the children and didn't leave till after eleven. So it was a bit of an effort to get everyone out in time for church this morning. And stepping out of the door into the warm, still garden, with the birds singing, I nearly didn't even make it as far as the car. But I was glad we went.
This is Christian Aid week and each church is allocated different streets to deliver envelopes, then collect them, hopefully with money in, a couple of days later. So, for the first time, I delivered a streetful of envelopes. I'll let you know how collecting them goes on Tuesday.
Mum and Dad came for lunch, and I meant to get some work done in the garden this afternoon, but somehow the afternoon disappeared and then our regular Sunday afternoon visitors, Mandy and Steve and their children Callum and Bethan, and also Mandy's Mum and an extra child, Kate, came, and we practised some music, and had tea, and I went out to church puppet team rehearsal, and Jonathan and Steve went out to a gig that is part of the Holmfirth Folk Festival , primarily to hear an excellent band from Skye called the Peatbog Faeries and my Mum came back to put the children to bed.
5/07/2004
We've had an eventful and successful day today. The girls woke up early and we got some reading time in before M had to go off to playgroup with Jonathan. Then I did some sewing with C, something I've been meaning to do for ages, but whenever I've suggested it she hasn't wanted to, or if we've started it, she just doesn't 'get it'. But she sewed some beads onto a piece of felt (no pictures yet) and even managed to thread her own needle.
Then we went to Bradford for HE ice skating. I love skating and skated a lot as a child, but I normally work on Fridays, so I seized the opportunity of being on holiday and went today. C was very frightened at first and said she just wanted to go home, but I hadn't driven all that way for her just to look at the ice, so she started by doing a small distance clinging very tight to me with both hands, and by the end of the session she skated a little bit not holding on to anything. I was so proud of her.
J's been reading Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats to C, so I borrowed the tape of Cats from my parents and we listened to it in the car. As we listened I discovered I had tears trickling down my face. That tape was the soundtrack in my head for much of my unhappy first year at boarding school and I don't think I've listened to it since. I didn't feel sad in the car, just emotional, listening to it again, it was very odd.
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Then we went to Bradford for HE ice skating. I love skating and skated a lot as a child, but I normally work on Fridays, so I seized the opportunity of being on holiday and went today. C was very frightened at first and said she just wanted to go home, but I hadn't driven all that way for her just to look at the ice, so she started by doing a small distance clinging very tight to me with both hands, and by the end of the session she skated a little bit not holding on to anything. I was so proud of her.
J's been reading Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats to C, so I borrowed the tape of Cats from my parents and we listened to it in the car. As we listened I discovered I had tears trickling down my face. That tape was the soundtrack in my head for much of my unhappy first year at boarding school and I don't think I've listened to it since. I didn't feel sad in the car, just emotional, listening to it again, it was very odd.
5/06/2004
Much and Maid Marian
After breakfast today, C sat down to play with her toy castle. When I saw it in the toyshop I decided I just had to have it, and since my birthday is the day after C's, I wasn't sure whose birthday present it was, but she's played with it loads already. She's really into Robin Hood and today the castle dolls were the characters from the Robin Hood stories, in some of the usual adventures and some very surreal ones. Maid Marian and Much the miller's son went climbing into the sky and found a secret passage to get down through the clouds.
Some friends came round after school this afternoon, and I was feeling paranoid about the state of the house, so I spent a couple of hours after lunch cleaning the kitchen and living room. M enjoyed helping me vacuum. I hope she still enjoys it when her 'help' will be truly helpful! All the children played nicely and they ate the food I cooked for their tea. M and B did some sticking, and C carried on with her Robin Hood game for a while, mostly by herself. I chatted with my friend, their Mum, about cultural expectations of education. Some of B's classmates are Indian and there are much greater academic expectations in their culture - relatives expect the child to be reading, and sitting down doing sums etc at just four.
After they went there was a bit of time left for reading - we're reading The Wizard of Oz for the third time. C just loves it, and we saw it on stage at Christmas, but she's never seen the film. She's quite sensitive to scary things that she sees and the winged monkeys would probably give her bad dreams, so we'll leave it till she's a little older.
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After breakfast today, C sat down to play with her toy castle. When I saw it in the toyshop I decided I just had to have it, and since my birthday is the day after C's, I wasn't sure whose birthday present it was, but she's played with it loads already. She's really into Robin Hood and today the castle dolls were the characters from the Robin Hood stories, in some of the usual adventures and some very surreal ones. Maid Marian and Much the miller's son went climbing into the sky and found a secret passage to get down through the clouds.
Some friends came round after school this afternoon, and I was feeling paranoid about the state of the house, so I spent a couple of hours after lunch cleaning the kitchen and living room. M enjoyed helping me vacuum. I hope she still enjoys it when her 'help' will be truly helpful! All the children played nicely and they ate the food I cooked for their tea. M and B did some sticking, and C carried on with her Robin Hood game for a while, mostly by herself. I chatted with my friend, their Mum, about cultural expectations of education. Some of B's classmates are Indian and there are much greater academic expectations in their culture - relatives expect the child to be reading, and sitting down doing sums etc at just four.
After they went there was a bit of time left for reading - we're reading The Wizard of Oz for the third time. C just loves it, and we saw it on stage at Christmas, but she's never seen the film. She's quite sensitive to scary things that she sees and the winged monkeys would probably give her bad dreams, so we'll leave it till she's a little older.
5/05/2004
A much better day
Ah, that's why I was grumpy yesterday. 11 days late, so I was beginning to wonder...
Anyway, today was much better right from the start. I woke to the surprising realisation that there was someone else in the bed besides me and Jonathan. Surprising because I'm a really light sleeper and no-one can ever sneak in without me noticing. And the good thing was it was C who had woken up and got herself dressed first before creeping into bed. Then M got dressed with almost no trouble at all. Then we got to playgroup almost on time. I stayed for half an hour then told M I was going to go home for a bit. She was a bit uncertain, but one of the helpers sat and played with her while I left, and she seems to have been fine.
When I got home, C and Jonathan were busy doing stuff, so what did I do with a precious and rare hour to myself? Sorted laundry. Lots of laundry. I couldn't believe how long it took, but now we all have clean clothes in the right places.
I brought home my neighbour's little girl from playgroup too and she stayed with us till about 3.00. She is 3 1/2 and was adopted from Russia six months ago. Her language is coming on really well, but independently of that she was a lot easier to deal with today than the last time I saw her a few weeks ago, although she still has a very stubborn streak. We played in the garden till the rain started (my fault, I knew I shouldn't have hung the washing out) then we did some cutting and sticking.
After she left, C and I looked at a German children's magazine Jonathan's sister had sent over, then while I cooked tea C and M played quietly and nicely together with the toy castle. After tea C had to vacuum the living room again following an incident with a hole punch, but she quite enjoys doing it really.
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Ah, that's why I was grumpy yesterday. 11 days late, so I was beginning to wonder...
Anyway, today was much better right from the start. I woke to the surprising realisation that there was someone else in the bed besides me and Jonathan. Surprising because I'm a really light sleeper and no-one can ever sneak in without me noticing. And the good thing was it was C who had woken up and got herself dressed first before creeping into bed. Then M got dressed with almost no trouble at all. Then we got to playgroup almost on time. I stayed for half an hour then told M I was going to go home for a bit. She was a bit uncertain, but one of the helpers sat and played with her while I left, and she seems to have been fine.
When I got home, C and Jonathan were busy doing stuff, so what did I do with a precious and rare hour to myself? Sorted laundry. Lots of laundry. I couldn't believe how long it took, but now we all have clean clothes in the right places.
I brought home my neighbour's little girl from playgroup too and she stayed with us till about 3.00. She is 3 1/2 and was adopted from Russia six months ago. Her language is coming on really well, but independently of that she was a lot easier to deal with today than the last time I saw her a few weeks ago, although she still has a very stubborn streak. We played in the garden till the rain started (my fault, I knew I shouldn't have hung the washing out) then we did some cutting and sticking.
After she left, C and I looked at a German children's magazine Jonathan's sister had sent over, then while I cooked tea C and M played quietly and nicely together with the toy castle. After tea C had to vacuum the living room again following an incident with a hole punch, but she quite enjoys doing it really.
5/04/2004
Two and a half
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It's M's 2 1/2th birthday today so we had a cake with 2 1/2 candles, and we sang Happy-half-Birthday, and Mum and Dad came round to help us eat it, and we had jelly and ice cream.
M starts playgroup tomorrow, so I took her this morning just for a visit. I've taken a week off work, not deliberately to help her settle there, but it looks like it will be a good thing anyway that I'm around this week. It takes her a while to get used to anything new, so she was quite clingy today and needed to be able to look up from whatever activity she was enjoying to make sure I was still there. There were a lot of loud boys called Thomas there today, and Wednesdays are much quieter and more girl-dominated, so we'll see how she is tomorrow.
M was tired when we got home, but refused to sleep, and I'd forgotten how tiring I find all the noise of playgroup too, so we were both pretty grumpy, and we had to make a cake for tea. I went to the cupboard to get out the scales and the mixing bowl, and when everything started falling out at me, I threw it back in crossly and slammed the door. But M was trying to help me get them out and had her fingers in the door... I think I cried for a bit longer than she did actually, and five minutes later I couldn't see the marks on her fingers at all, but I felt such a bad Mummy. Cake-making continued to be rather a stressful activity as both children insisted on playing with the dial on the scales while I was trying to weigh things, so that was a bit random, then I ran out of icing sugar and put too much water in the icing and had to improvise with some caster sugar in the blender. Given all that, it tasted OK. And I'm not very good at jelly either (How can someone not be good at making jelly?!?) - it never sets properly and it won't turn out.
Bit of a grumpy day all round really. M finally went to sleep about 8.20 and I had some time to read to C for a bit, which is one of my favourite things to do, so I felt a bit better. Never mind, there's a whole new day tomorrow.
5/03/2004
The weather got off to an unpromising start so we cancelled plans for a picnic in a park somewhere near Barbara's, but by the time we actually got organised to leave home the sun was shining again. So anyway we all went to Barbara's and so did Jax and children, and all the children played really nicely together. M and Ben are particularly sweet friends together I think.
In the afternoon we all went out to the local park which was pretty crowded but still had a good play area, a bridge over a stream into some bluebell woods, an ice cream van, and some rides, including dodgems (first time C's been on these, and she was braver than we expected) and a big bouncy castle. (photos may follow)
On the way back we called in on some old friends who live in Sheffield and had a cup of tea and a bit of a play there, so we got back quite late, but it's been a good day.
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In the afternoon we all went out to the local park which was pretty crowded but still had a good play area, a bridge over a stream into some bluebell woods, an ice cream van, and some rides, including dodgems (first time C's been on these, and she was braver than we expected) and a big bouncy castle. (photos may follow)
On the way back we called in on some old friends who live in Sheffield and had a cup of tea and a bit of a play there, so we got back quite late, but it's been a good day.
5/01/2004
First Cuckoo
It's been a lovely day here and after a late start (visited Tesco online to do my big monthly-or-so shop before brunch of yummy pancakes made by Jonathan) we've spent most of the day outside. Some friends who were just passing on a walk called in and played for a bit, then we walked down the lane with them to feed the ducks. When we came back we just stayed in the garden, and we heard the first cuckoo of the summer. I was digging in the veggie patch until my back had had enough, and C and M had a great time looking for worms and picking them up. It kept them amused for ages, but stretched my ingenuity as I struggled to think of something original to say each time M said to me 'look Mummy, a worm'.
We have some excellent little green shiny beetles, who live almost entirely on docks, which we call shiny dock beetles, because their other name is too difficult, and they were very active today. There were some dock leaves with a dozen or more on, and loads of them were laying eggs. One small fly in the ointment - we've discovered they also like rhubarb.
Our friend Geoff has brought a new pony to our field, so now there are two - they like company. He buys them unbroken then trains them to get used to him, then to wearing a bridle, then to pulling a little trap, so he can drive around the roads, and then he sells them on. The whole training process in really interesting to watch, and the new dark one is just beginning.
My Mum and Dad came round this afternoon to help with the garden. Mum's been working hard weeding and tudying the strawberries. I suppose I could do a garden blog, but on days like this, being in the garden is what we do, so I'll leave it all in one for now.
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It's been a lovely day here and after a late start (visited Tesco online to do my big monthly-or-so shop before brunch of yummy pancakes made by Jonathan) we've spent most of the day outside. Some friends who were just passing on a walk called in and played for a bit, then we walked down the lane with them to feed the ducks. When we came back we just stayed in the garden, and we heard the first cuckoo of the summer. I was digging in the veggie patch until my back had had enough, and C and M had a great time looking for worms and picking them up. It kept them amused for ages, but stretched my ingenuity as I struggled to think of something original to say each time M said to me 'look Mummy, a worm'.
We have some excellent little green shiny beetles, who live almost entirely on docks, which we call shiny dock beetles, because their other name is too difficult, and they were very active today. There were some dock leaves with a dozen or more on, and loads of them were laying eggs. One small fly in the ointment - we've discovered they also like rhubarb.
Our friend Geoff has brought a new pony to our field, so now there are two - they like company. He buys them unbroken then trains them to get used to him, then to wearing a bridle, then to pulling a little trap, so he can drive around the roads, and then he sells them on. The whole training process in really interesting to watch, and the new dark one is just beginning.
My Mum and Dad came round this afternoon to help with the garden. Mum's been working hard weeding and tudying the strawberries. I suppose I could do a garden blog, but on days like this, being in the garden is what we do, so I'll leave it all in one for now.
