Sunday

A very early good morning to you!  It's stupid o'clock so I will probably get some more sleep later on.  It seemed very silly,, however, to lie awake trying to get to sleep when there's work to be done and I'm ready to do it.  So here I am, downstairs, smelling the breadmaker doing its work and blogging instead of working.  That's life!

I really did intend to go into school yesterday afternoon.  Honest!  I sat down after lunch for a short time and woke two hours later by which time I really couldn't be bothered.  So what I was going to do will have to wait!  :0)
It was helpful to have some time in sleepland as yesterday was what I call a 'hungry day' - a day when I could have eaten anything and everything in sight, should I have had it in the house.  So it is just as well that I didn't really, isn't it?  I'm feeling hungry again now, buit that's normal given the time, the smell of bread baking, etc.  I can wait!

After my excursion into Amazon via Nectar, last week earning plenty of Nectar points when I bought my camera, and having reviewed my winter show situation and decided something needed to be done, I began to wonder if I could do the samer to get into the Hotter site.  I almost always buy Hotter shoes nowadays,  For a start, they seem to be the only shoes that last me any reasonable length of time and also they fit comfortably.  Worth the extra, although they really aren't that expensive in comparison with any reasonable quality shoe. 
So into Nectar I went and yes, I could get to Hotter, so across I went, bought a couple of pairs of shoes and earned the Nectar points.  I'm saving them for redeeming when I do the Christmas shop.  And now I'm set up with shoes and boots for winter.

Talking of winter, I needed to pop into Morrisons yesterday afternoon for some strong bread flour and a headline in one of the papers caught my eye - OK, so it was the Daily Express so not necessarily terribly reliable but anyway . . .
It proclaimed that we are in for some 'arctic' weather with snow in Scotland and frosts so  I indulged in a little fantasy about snowdays before half term.

It's Sunday, so DD and DG are round for lunch.  Tomorrow, they are embarking on a project together, to eat as they would have eaten during WW2 - rations and all - as much as they can.  With that in mind I thought I would provide a more substantial lunch than usual so we're having vegetable pot pie, roasted root veg and broad beans.  Yum yum.  That's why the breadmaker is in action.  I'm making some 'home made' bread for them and as soon as this loaf is finished I will oput another one on.  Thinking of it, I could make a Grant loaf, couldn't I?  Maybe during the morning . . .

And now I MUST do some work!!!

Saturday

Weekend.  Planning done.  All good.  However, because of the new phonic organisation, I have a rather full weekend making resources, going into school this afternoon to get stuff laminated and all set up, making record and evaluation sheets - etc . . .  What a shame!  Never mind, it has to be done.  Maybe I can take Sunday off to get the housework, etc, done.

I think my system is back to normal after Thursday's little blow out.  No more calf cramp, no more muggy head feelings.  That's good!  Hopefully it hasn't had a major impact on my monthly weigh in, although I did step on the scales Thursday morning, just in case!  I think it's called 'hedging your bets', isn't it?

I've just come back from the kitchen where I was starting off the weekend soup.  I've used the pumpkin DD gave me, plus carrot, celery, tomatoes, onion, garlic and a red chili and right now they are slowly roasting in a little oil and some mild curry powder.  I may add some red lentils later on; I will see what it turns out like without.  I will definitely add some chopped tomatoes or passata (depending on what I have in the cupboard.  Definitely one to push through the mouli as pumpkin has such a silky texture.  It should see me through a working week of lunches, hopefully.  That's the idea, anyway!

Friday

What an awakening!  Last night I met up with friends from school at the local pub to have a meal and a drink together.  It was lovely (more about that later) but I had three glasses of wine, which is three more than I've had since we came home from Streele Farm.  This morning I woke with cramp in one calf - ow, ow, ow - and in my sleepy haste to get out of bed to stretch the muscle I missed the side of the bed, fell out and landed with the other leg under me which promptly cramped too.  I had to laugh in between the squawks of ouchness, it was rather funny in a painful sort of way.  Fortunately, it wasn't bad, nor did it last very long, but I suspect it was the wine and the subsequent slight dehydration that was at fault there.  So now I'm sitting here with a slightly muggy head (only slightly, I didn't have all that much but I've been off the wine for over a month now so am not exactly used to it), a rumbling tum and stiff calf muscles.  Great start to the day, eh?

We did have a good time last night.  These evenings are open to everyone but, in fact, it's just a smallish group of about ten of us who go, those of us who live near enough to walk.  We all go back a long way and we were all mummy helpers at the school before being taken onto the staff in one capacity or another.  There was a lot of reminiscing and A and I nearly cried with laughter as we recalled one particular incident.  A used to be my classroom assistant so there's a lot of shared memories and laughter, but this is one of the best.

We were doing phonics.  Little Boy Who Is Now Grown Up (yes, it was that long ago) was making valiant attempts to make the word 'cat' with his letter cards.  He tried it all ways round before deciding on cta.

Me:    What a great try, LBWINGU.  What do you think about it?
LBWINGU:   (looking hopefully up)  I've got all the right letters, Mrs Clark.
Me:  (feeling wicked)  You have got all the right letters, but not necessarily in the right order . . .

. . . and then I caught A's eye and we both laughed - and laughed and laughed and  . . . oh, for the longest time.  The children just sat there, silent and dumbfounded, while the two supposedly most sensible people in the whole room made utter fools of themselves. 

For those who don't get it, I refer you to the late and great Morcambe and Wise's greatest ever sketch, 'Grieg's Piano Concerto with Mr Andrew Preview (Andre Previn)' - totally unforgettable and the funniest of all their funnies by a mile.

Thursday morning

One more day after today and we are half way through the half term, one twelfth of the way through the school year, ridiculous as that sounds.  We have come a fair old way along the road in the past few weeks and I'm pleased.

Yesterday evening was a very useful staff meeting, based on our delivery of phonics.  It's now much closer to what I feel comfortable with (not that comfort is necessarily a Good Thing, but in this case maybe it is) and I think it's going to work a real treat!  Planning it in was a bit of a headache, just because it's a change, but I got there so all the planning is now done for next week.  It will get easier!

Another photo.  No way was the reality as dramatic as this photo, but I used the 'sunset' setting and it looks very 'arty', doesn't it?  I think it will make a good card.

I'm beginning to think I ought to get myself one of those digital photo frame thingies because I'm quite pleased with some of my photos and it would be nice to have them showing in some way.  Or maybe that's just being big headed and show-offy.  Don't want to be that!

Wednesday

Good morning on a somewhat damp-but-not-actually-raining-at-the-moment early Wednesday morning.  It's obviously been raining but right now the skies are starry and there's not a lot of cloud so it's cold!

Yesterday was nicely ordinary.  Even the observations were pleasant, good in fact, and I learnt and, hopefully, taught useful stuff. 

I also snapped off a few photos on the new camera and am ridiculously pleased with the one I posted yesterday evening.  It was just about the only useful one of several as that flippin' spider would not stay still and smile nicely for me!  But, for me (and I know there's got to be lots of faults in it), the one that did work was well worth the others.  It was cropped, of course, I didn't really get that close, but I love the detail, if not the subject!
The zoom is good too.  I took a dead boring one of a tree from right the other side of the school field and it is very clear. 

The panoramic one is fun but gives some odd effects.  Sepia is dull, but right for certain photos.  It also has something called 'happy' colour (how twee) that enhances colour and makes everything bright.  Nice!

This one I took from outside the back of the house, looking over the countryside.  Again, the zoom worked well.  I took it because the clouds looked interesting!  Those buildings and the tree are right on the horizon over the other side of an agricultural area.  It's on the sunset setting although there wasn't much of a sunset.  I just wanted to see what effect it had.

Wish I'd had this at Streele Farm!

One for Diane and Annabeth . . .

. . . who are expecting photos from the new 'toy'.

Tuesday

As the early morning promised, Monday was a bit of a stinker, weather-wise, although the sun did come out early evening, incredibly!  Wet playtimes lead to restless children (and irritated teachers) so I was glad that mine had swimming to get them moving and keep them active.  It's still cold: indeed, when I went to the freezer to get today's gastronomic stuff, there was a real chill in the air and, looking up, the most radiantly starry night sky I have seen for a long time.  And then the security light clicked on!!

The camera did arrive - just as well, given the exorbitant amount I had paid for a speedy delivery.  First impressions are good.  It feels comfortable in the hand and the controls, though small, are easy to manipulate.  It seems to have a very wide range of functions including a touch sensitive screen which has already caught me out a few times.  I'd post a photo using the panoramic function but it is of my decidedly less-than-tidy downstairs so no way is that ever going public!  I'll try to remember to take one of the school grounds and see how that comes out.
The only thing with which I am not satisfied so far is the wrist strap.  For complete safety I like one that you can tighten around the wrist and my first digi camera, a Sony, had such a strap.  When I got the latest school camera I transferred the strap to that and, of course, forgot to take it off when the camera was sent off for repair, darn it!  With such a strap, even if I fumble and lose grip, the camera still won't fall and I don't really feel that comfortable without it, so heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to Amazon I go! (again)  Something similar to the Nintendo control wrist straps would be ideal - in fact I think that's what I will go for.

Today will be interesting.  I am doing two lesson observations.  I hate being observed with all my heart, but I quite like observing.  I learn such a lot from my colleagues that I can take on board for my own classroom practice.  Today should be no exception!  Writing up the reports afterwards is not so much fun but there you go!  Can't have it all.

Apologies to those of a sensitive disposition but I am fascinated by the markings on this autumnal spider.  This was taken with the Sony, once I had worked out how to get the focus right.  There's still plenty of photo-frogs to each prince, but I'm getting there, slowly.