Bless You!!

I am so blessed in my cyber-buddies, so very blessed. You are all so good to write and send me your thoughts and also that some of you too have passed through this valley on your journey. I am humbled and begin to think that I may survive too. You are so encouraging.

Friends at school and around have been kind too, some really making the effort to remind me that they care. That too is encouraging.

I have hidden for the last month, afraid to be seen for fear of verbal abuse. Its been difficult and not just due to the demons in my head. Whatever other people are thinking, I think I am judging myself the most harshly of all since it does seem to me a wicked thing to have walked away from my marriage. And although the girls are free to visit me whenever they please, they continue to live with their father. From full time Mom to a few hours a week with each girl, if I'm lucky, is an overwhelming loss...of companionship and identity. I tell myself that it is early onset 'empty nest' syndrome!!!

I will take photos of my funny little house to show you.

Its over one hundred years old, with an outside loo and, in the back shed, the old yard fireplace for cooking! Its very narrow, maybe 8' wide, and shaped like a boomerang with hardly a square corner in the place. The fire heats the radiators and the hot water- no fire, no heat. There are three plug sockets upstairs, two in the sitting room and I thought there were three in the kitchen but then I found two more in a cupboard...so if I want to plug in something extra I have to use it in the cupboard and sit on the floor...

Eccentric in the extreme!!

INVASION of the Teenage Campers!!

Just when I think I've survived the Easter holidays intact, and all that's left to do is to play the organ on Sunday morning before returning to school and starting a new term...an INVASION arrives...
Nine teenagers, friends of Youngest, all set to camp in the garden...night frost, hailstones, rain and wind notwithstanding!

Mad! I tell you! Mad altogether!

They pitched tents (four in total), collected their own kindling from along the bottom lane, had a chat and fed carrots to Mary Horse, chopped logs, lit the fire AND kept it going despite the wind, cooked out (baked beans and skewers- chicken and vegetable) (having prepared the vegetable skewers first at the kitchen table, and wasn't that a laugh!), went for a torch hike, froze, talked for IrelandEnglandScotlandandWales, did some stargazing (someone brought a telescope), retired inside to watch a video and warm up, retired to their tents, and were up at dawn for another hike before landing in the kitchen like a bunch of zombies to cook a massive breakfast which went on for nearly four hours!

I have to admit I get such a kick out of them all, from their attitudes to tent pitching (lying on the grass watching everyone else and offering advice) to trying to keep the fire alight (have you anything else ready to burn?), as well as the snippets of conversations overheard!
...and another thing? Under the direction of Youngest they left the place as neat as a group of teenagers could! Mattresses and bedding all returned upstars, kitchen and garden clean and tidy. MEGA-impressed!

Gotta love teenagers...sometimes!!

And now we are down to the last day before school and the dreaded WSE. Aaaargh!
Oh well, this too will pass...

Bits and Bobs!

I thought you would like to see yesterday's rainbow? It was lovely, and if you knew the amount of rain we've had this week you'd be thankful for God's promise not to flood the earth again too!
The Hub lit the stove yesterday morning so the house was lovely and warm when I returned from school. The singing went fine, it was the first session this term with all four senior classes- 112 children. Its always exciting for them and me when we start getting eveyone together and yesterday was no exception.

D'you remember the children's cartoon 'The Land that Time Forgot'? I think it was about dinosaurs though I never actually saw it since we didn't have TV in East Africa; well this is some fabric from 'The Trunk that Time Forgot'!

Some of it is truly awful, and its only '80's fabric, not even '70's! And to think I just loved the garments which Mom made me, AND thought I was the bee's knees - the orange check was a dress with flared skirt, blue striped flannel was pyjamas, blue flowery was harem pants (~+>#<~+!), tie dye was a duvet cover I believe, muzzy brown a circular skirt, and those fluorescent jobs were shorts...and in case you are very charitably thinking 'well I'm sure she had a smaller bum back then', its very kind of you but you're WRONG! I've always had an outsize backside and likely to continue so!

Have you noticed that the Christmas Charity and Donations ad.s have begun on TV? Last night we were watching one about sponsoring a dog so I asked Ben and Bertie what they thought? Ben-dog said that he wasn't interested unless it was a sponsored Stone Throwing contest, honestly! Talk about disinterest!

If you need a laugh or cheering up you've got to check out this Friday Funny! (http://godsheart-heart2heart.blogspot.com/2009/11/beware-of-treadmills-friday-funnies.html )

I had to watch it twice and I laughed until I cried!

Yesterday in the Staffroom I was successfully wound up two new members of staff- I wonder whether the Principal includes it in the fine print of their contract because very rarely does anyone stop me, and frequently they join in! One teacher commented that I was drinking water and I insisted it was vodka until she began to wonder and someone else had to soothe her!

The the new Learning Support teacher (who happens to be Canadian) was asking how the Swimming Sessions worked because today will be the first one. The Principal told him he would be expected to go with the children and I could see he thought the Principal meant 'go swimming' as opposed to 'go supervise'. I'm sorry to say I leaped into the breach and told him he'd need his wet-suit rather than togs because they didn't go swimming in the Sports Complex any more but out at Rosses Point. The beach? sez he. Oh no, sez I, the pool, haven't you seen it, there's an old tidal swimming pool which is used. Another teacher added that due to the Recession, parents decided to cut the swimming costs.

Well we had the poor guy fairly going, not knowing what to think, before the Principal burst out laughing and gave away the game!

Yeah! yeah! I know! But he's a good sport- and five minutes later I heard another teacher telling him that this awful weather was all coming from Canada! Anyone coming to teach would need to be well able for us! And most are, luckily!