Failed again.

I’m sorry to say that my best intentions to write regularly have again slipped, not because I don’t have things to say, more because I run out of time, or wonder if you’re interested in the trivia of our everyday lives.

We are under exam conditions at present. Simon in Leeds has exams at Uni and Matthew has AS exams, both have begun in earnest this week. I am always relieved when they are over and everyone relaxes again. The uncertainty surrounding Martin’s job seems mostly resolved now with a take-over planned for 1 June. I am currently feeling quite frustrated about lack of progress in some of the things I am involved in, I am filled with a sense that we are simply paying ‘lip-service’ to requirements, but unable or unwilling to progress the issues. Either that or it’s my age!!

The weather has been lovely recently and the garden has blossomed beautifully. We still have much work to do to reclaim it after the enforced neglect of caring for my Dad, but the bluebells and blossom make all the difference. Last weekend we had a fantastic weekend. On Saturday we went to the Ultimate Event at Alton Towers. I want to tell you all about it, but intend to devote a whole post to it. Plan to do that tomorrow as the pictures are already here.

A lovely weekend

I am almost at the end of a lovely weekend. It started on Friday evening with a fun night out with the ‘girls’, much enjoyed by all five of us and set to be repeated again soon. Saturday dawned bright and sunny. I was awake early and Martin and I made an early morning foray to the supermarket and the bank. The bank were having a computer ‘glitch’ so were having to enter transactions by hand. By the time we got home Matthew was up. Martin had a quick clear out in the garage as we had the refuse freighter in the village. We got rid of some garden rubbish, an old bike and a couple of doors, which we replaced four years ago, but which he insisted we kept ‘in case they were useful’. We were a little concerned to find a blackbirds nest, complete with four eggs in the foliage we wanted to throw away. We are afraid that the birds won’t return to it as although we haven’t touched the nest, it was disturbed before we saw it. Matthew did don his mp3 player to cut the grass and his dulcet tones could be heard floating across the garden from time to time as he sang along!

We spent tea time with Martin’s mum and sisters and family. It is great to catch up when we can and it’s usually a lovely family time. In the evening we went to listen to Newmount Brass play. Matthew played the solo ‘The Holy City’, whenever he plays a solo I come over all emotional, as I guess every mother does, so I have to pretend to focus very hard on something else nearby!

Today at church we had a baby baptism. The church was full and the baby smiled at the critical moment which provoked a huge Awww! This evening we had one of our cafe style events.The theme was Hope, with a mix of music, pictures and poetry not to mention chocolate cake and coffee, they are always thought provoking and attract visitors who perhaps would not otherwise come to church in an evening.

I already know it will be a trying week ahead, so it has been an especially lovely weekend.

Busy Day

I have had a normal quiet working day and am completely in awe of Matthew who must have had the busiest day in the family. He left for school today at 8am prepared for AS/PE moderation day. It was raining! He has spent the day with his fellow PE students being moderated to ensure their teachers have marked fairly and consistently. I know he has played football and rugby not to mention having completed his own Personal Exercise Plan. Following this he spent three hours until 6pm, still at school finishing off an Entry Level Rugby Referees Course which should have been completed weeks ago except for an incompetent external tutor. Then it was home for a quick tea before band practice for a concert coming up at the weekend. No wonder he was tired

Long time, no write

I’ve just realised it’s almost a month since I updated what’s been happening with us. Isn’t it strange that when you  think there’ll be more time to catch up on stuff, it never seems to happen!

We have had Easter since the last update. I was very thankful for the few days family holiday we shared  over the Easter weekend,  not least because it was lovely to have time together as a family with no particular agenda. Simon was home from university and Martin, Matthew and I had the weekend off with end of term break to follow two weeks later. We travelled to Cumbria, picking up a friend, Louise on the way. We saw snow on the Lakeland hills and Martin and I enjoyed a gentle stroll into Grange over Sands with a brief detour to my favourite chocolate shop and the posh tea shop nearby to make the trip complete.

Four weeks on and we have seen Simon leave his teenage years behind, turning 20 at the end of last month.  A weekend visit from Justin, where we combined Christmas, his birthday and Simon’s birthday into about 20 minutes (alas only one cake though!) and me catch up with another friend for a girly day out and get through some long overdue household chores (what DOES the bottom of the laundry basket look like?). Simon returned to university last weekend for a few more lectures before exams. Matthew has spent time working and revising for his exams. He and I are back to school tomorrow and already the calendar is filling up at an alarming rate. I’m not sure if we’re just not good at saying no, or expect to do too much, but I will try and update more diligently in future.

Mystery solved:-)

It’s been a while since I was here, been sooo busy with work, play and life in general. I have solved the ouch in the previous post. It seems our shed was bashed by a dustbin, not a small plastic dustbin you understand, but a large industrial sized metal dustbin on wheels. I understand that the caretaker had been clearing the playground of leaves, twigs, old apple cores and other unmentionable ephemera left by school children and, being a practical sort of chap, he decided that rather than struggling to carry several large, full bin bags to the bin in multiple journeys, he would bring the bin and just lift them in (told you he was a sensible chap). However as he approached the corner of our shed the bin veered hopelessly off course and crashed into the side. Ouch!

It is still unclear who is going to pay for the damage. I’m sure it will provide for yet more interesting discussions between us and the school (yes we’ve already had a few). Who knows… it could end up with chalkboard cleaners at 20 paces!

Ouch!

Just when you thought you’d heard the last of the playgroup shed, it’s back again to bash you round the head. Our beautiful new shed (with carefully applied hazard tape) has been bumped! We spotted the damage a couple of days ago, but so far we haven’t been able to find out how it happened. It sits in the school playground away from public view so we guess it was probably an accident caused either by the pupils moving equipment from one place to another or workmen, if there have been any. You can see from the pictures it must have been a hefty whack from what ever hit it, and looks as if it has dented the metal panels some way along as whatever it was, was dragged along the side. As you might imagine we are quite upset about it as it’s been in situ such a short time. Watch this space to find out whodunit!

My evening

I’m still trying to make my mind up about this evening. I’ve spent it attending an Early Years Education training with the spectacular title of “Differentiation of the Foundation Stage Curriculum”! Apart from being a being a lesson in grammar of the various tenses of the word differentiation, I have to be honest and say I’m not sure how useful it was, although I’m itching to try making “Ice Balloons”. Will report more another time.

A pleasant side effect of the training was the venue chosen. It was held at a local community church and obviously Monday evening is when the ‘house’ worship band rehearse. Whilst some might have found it distracting, not least because they were unfamiliar with the music, I was delighted to hear some familiar melodies of Matt Redman and the Newsboys. One of the participants was very shocked to find out the drums, guitars and vocals she had been tapping her feet to all evening were actually singing worship songs – not her idea of church at all!