Friday

It was a very odd day yesterday.  Very odd indeed.  Starting at ten seemed to go down well with many parents, judging by comments overheard but for us, in school, it was weird waiting around for things to get going when normally we would be well into things by then.
The roads weren't good and the pavements were shockingly slippery.  As for the playgrounds, they were so dangerous we kept the children in all day and they were cordoned off (playgrounds, not children).

The rehearsal went ahead, not at the planned time, of course, but that didn't matter.  It went well, I think.  I'm just so submerged in it all I only see the mistakes, but those TAs and cover teacher who were seeing it for the first time said that it was lovely with a couple of real tear-creating moment (in the nicest way).  Today is the dress rehearsal when we also perform to the Juniors and see what delights the parents have provided in the way of costumes.

I woke in the night remembering that the Kings are still presenting  two shakers and a paint pot to the baby Jesus, and couldn't get to sleep again.  Never mind, I have suitable containers now and will cover them with shiny paper when I get to school.  Every year I forget that detail and I swear I will go online and Google for gold, frankincense and myrrh one of these days!

Yes, we started the shakers.  It was very interesting watching them dealing with sellotape, masking tape or glue as they tried to stick their two plastic cups together after putting in the filling.  I'm afraid one highlight was watching a little lad carefully place tape on one of the cups, carefully lift the other cup up to lower it on top of the bottom cup and watch in dismay as his filling fell out all over the table!  Something learnt there, I suspect.

And after school Julie, Linda and I met at the Hare for our Christmas meal together.   Ooooh, it was lovely.  They had given us a big round table near the fire so we had bags of space for all out clutter (pressies and cards) and J and I decided to go home by taxi and have wine - so we did. 

And now it's getting to feel a lot like Christmas . . .

Thursday

PPA =  planning, preparation and assessment.  That wonderful 10% of teaching time that we have out of class to do what it says on the label - planning, preparation and assessment.  It's a relatively new thing, statutory and it's marvellous.  I didn't get mine yesterday!
ICT = Information and Communication Technology.  It was supposed to be our time in the computer suite yesterday.  We didn't go!
D&T = Design and Technology.  We are making shakers.  Yesterday we didn't!
SM = Staff Meeting.  Cancelled.

And the reason for all of this was - SNOW!!

Yesterday I said it was a very cold and frosty morning and so it was when I looked out at four o'clock.  Cold, frosty and clear.
At seven o'clock I meandered onto Facebook to see several friends' statuses proclaiming 'snow' in a variety of ways.  What?????   No!!!  Couldn't be.  I rushed to the front door and was nearly submerged in a blizzard.  OK, slight exaggeration maybe, but it was snowing very hard indeed, huge white snowballs that had covered the already icy ground to about 4-5cms..  Where did that come from?  It was just about the biggest shock of the year. 

So I trudged my way to school, deciding to go round the front as I wasn't sure when the doors would open and didn't want to be without shelter (there's shelter at the front).  Just as well too, because another colleague and I waited - and waited - and waited . . .  It turns out the roads were very bad indeed, driving conditions were shocking on ungritted roads and there were jams and accidents all over the place.  It took the caretaker around forty five minutes to do a journey that would usually take about ten minutes and in that time one TA arrived to wait with us and two colleagues were at the back in one of the external classrooms.  That was the sum total of staff.
Once we got in and had made copious numbers of phone calls, it was decided that the school would not open until ten, messages were posted all over the place to inform the parents and we made arrangements for supervising the few that would, inevitably, turn up without parents in tow.
Fortunately, other staff started arriving and by ten there were enough adults to provide legal levels of supervision.  Some never made it and eventually turned tail and went home again, having spent hours in their cars.  Four who were sharing a car left the car in town and walked the rest of the way, arriving very wet and extremely cold.  One arrived at lunchtime - more than four and a half hours in her car.  People showed huge commitment to getting to school.
It was a grand example of everyone working together to make it happen, especially as the secondary schools closed at ten when it was clear that there wouldn't be enough supervision.  I felt for Beth.  She took Alex to school in horrendous driving conditions, was on her way home when she got the news that the school was closing so had to go back again to pick him up.  She was in that car for three hours and it's only across town.  Usually 15 mins max.

Anyway, we made it work eventually but, as my PPA is 8:45 to 10:45, it didn't happen.  Andrea, the other Y1 teacher, never made it in at all.  After playtime (if you have wellies you are allowed on the field in the snow; if not, it's the bottom playground for you!) it took so long to get sorted (wellies, changing socks and tights, wet things on a radiator that is much too small . . . etc, there wasn't enough time for the computer suite - so we did maths instead, poor kids!
The afternoon was my mistake - I forgot we had a dance rehearsal so D&T went by the board.
And staff meeting, of course, was cancelled so that people could get home as soon as the children had gone as it was starting to freeze again and there was a lot of slush on the roads and pavements.  Nasty, especially for those who had longer distance to travel.  I was home by four and I can't remember the last time I got home from school so early.  Probably the last snowy day!!

So - on to today.  In anticipation of a big freeze and nasty driving conditions this morning, the school will open at ten o'clock.  Our second run through of our show will now start as soon as possible after that, we will run through and then have our infant playtime when it's finished and that will be the morning done and dusted.  Time for a bit of phonics and not a lot else.
But we might start making those shakers this afternoon!  Yay!

Saturday

I got a shock when I opened iGoogle this morning.  The weather forecast thingy said it was snowing in Chelmsford.  Well, I don't know which bit of Chelmsford it is thinking of, but I rushed excitedly to the window and opened it, to be greeted by a rush of extremely cold air but no snow.  No hopping out to the shed in my slippers and nightie this morning, that's for sure!  Shame about no snow though!

Well, it's 6:44 am and I'm not rushing to finish anything, I'm not thinking that I must have my bath soon or I'll be running late, I'm not checking my planning in case there's anything I have forgotten.  I'm sitting here, idly pondering over what I can do today that doesn't involve work.  I stayed late at school yesterday to get the new display up for after half term (it looks really nice too), I am up to date with marking, etc, and the planning is virtually done.  Bliss!

I think I want to have a go at the eight strand plaited loaf that was shown on the Bake Off programme.  I will cheat, of course, and make the dough in the breadmaker.  It's the actual plaiting that fascinated me and once you've got the sequence sorted it's not actually too difficult - or is that famous last words!  We will see. 
Also I have to pick up Beth's birthday cupcakes and sort out a nice dinner for her.  I want it to involve use of my potato ricer so I guess it will be gardener's pie with a lovely cheesy mash topping - naughty but very nice.  Alex can have a savoury mince base.  I might set to and make a really tasty onion gravy too.
Having said no work, I do rather fancy trawling some sites for resources, etc.  It doesn't count because it's fun and I choose to do it for fun.  :-)

I have to do some tidying up, of course, but in my own time.  Today is going to be a lazy day!!!  So off I go to start off the dough!

There's still a few splashes of colour in the garden.

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!!!

Sunday morning

For the first time in I don't know when, I slept on beyond four or five. It wasn't a solid sleep but good enough, and waking at seven fifteen was a surprise. It feels pretty good, once in a while, I must say! I wonder if it was the new duvet: it was certainly much more confortable and snuggly. The old duvet is now waiting by the back door - it will go into the shed and cover the freezer to keep it just a little bit warmer. That may sound odd, but freezers don't like to sit in air that is too cold and - well, I would say 'too cold' just about describes it right now! As long as I don't cover the ventilation grills, it should work a treat.

Yesterday wasn't really a day of rest and I didn't fall asleep during the day, surprisingly enough, but it was a gentle and pottering day. I made biscotti for the first time and will make them again, they're really very easy and moreish. I made some cookies from a recipe given to me by a mum-friend from school. The breadmaker worked its usual magic and produced a white loaf and it's now starting to do the same thing with a wholemeal loaf, which takes an hour longer. Both of these, plus any brothers and sisters, will go in the freezer. There's quite a lot of empty space in the new freezer and filling them with bread seems a good idea. DD can have a loaf each Sunday when she comes over, so it won't be wasted.

I was very disappointed to see Pamela go out in third place in Strictly last night. I felt she was the most beautiful dancer of the three of them and the judges seemed to agree with this, but I guess they did perhaps play it safe in their exhibition dance and she's not a 'celebrity' of today in the same way that the other two are. I remember her from decades ago, making me giggle many a time, but a modern audience wouldn't necessarily recall those times.

So on to today. The snow is lying thickly, of course. It doesn't look as if any more has fallen overnight and the forecast for today is sunshine and to remain below freezing all day. That being so, I will either stay snuggled in my warm little house and do homey, housewifey things or I will don my wellies and trudge out for a walk. I could do both, I suppose! I'm pretty sure DD and DG won't be over for their Sunday tea. DD still isn't feeling wonderful and their road (narrow, winding, busy, cars parked on either side, ungritted) will be well nigh impossible to negotiate without bumping other cars. Best not to even try! A shame, but, of course, for two weeks we are not restricted to weekends only. Yay!!

I'd like to get some more potatoes ready for roasting and in the freezer this morning. I know I already have some, but I managed to get a bag of King Edwards yesterday, which do make the very nicest roasties. They won't go to waste and, from a controlled eating perspective, it makes it so much easier to just have one bit of roast potato in a meal.
I will also sit down and make a serious list of everything that is ready and what still has to be done, bought or prepared, and then timetable everything. I do like to be clear exactly where I am with everything at times like this.

If I get all of that done, I will be very pleased. :0)

Photo: just another of yesterday.