Making it up

67 words

Touchtyping

Thanks Andrea

So, leaving Jax to the delights of the daily, we decamped to visit family in Suffolk. I must admit I am very surprised at how homesick I feel for the place.

We ate, we drank, the smalls played with a Wii, courtesy of my niece, who has this interesting job which means that she not only has an XBox and a Playstation on her desk at work, and is expected to play games during office hours, but is given all the latest kit, in pretty much every flavour to take home with her.

On Friday we went to visit one of my favourite castles, Orford Castle. The castle itself is good to visit, an excellent restored 12th Century keep, but the setting is lovely too, Orford is charming, and from the top of the castle you get fabulous views out over the North Sea across Orford Ness, which is a remarkable geographic feature, with a remarkable history. We went my brother and one of my nieces, and lunched on the beach at Aldeburgh before swinging home through Thorpeness, to show Big The House In The Clouds (which caused much debate).

Anway, some pics.

box of basket bases for weaving baskets. Anyone want any? Suspect that the place I usually get cane from will have suitable width cane for weaving baskets. There’s probably about 30 in the box, circular, about 5/ 6 inches (no, I don’t know where the ruler is!) in diameter, with holes drilled around the edge.

eta and in next bag found (half, don’t ask) folding rule. They are 10 cms in diameter.

Toy weapons ‘help boys to learn’

Boys in nursery schools should not be discouraged from playing with toy guns and other weapons, the government says.

bbc

I find this a difficult one. I suspect that the guidance is actually along the lines of trying to not have teachers forever saying “no, don’t do that” to little boys, rather than what they appear to be saying, which is “let boys play with guns”. And on that level I can understand it. At the same time, even though I played with guns and swords and so on as a child and haven’t grown up to be a homicidal maniac (yet) I don’t want my children playing with weapons. All of the games involve killing ppl (ours didn’t as children, but then we watched the A team, which involved ppl being blown up and getting up and walking away) or ppl getting hurt, and all too often in reality this involves a small child in tears.

We are having this problem with Small at the moment. He loves superheroes, Spiderman in particular, although Batman is coming through as well. Unfortunately when he plays these games, he gets carried away, and his friends end up getting hurt. It’s meant that the games have had to be banned from school (there have been several meetings with me and him to try to work through it, but he just can’t remember when he’s playing the game that it isn’t the baddie in front of him, it’s his friend and he gets carried away). I can see in other locations how this could end up with him disenchanted and uninvolved, but school has just redoubled their efforts to involve him in other pursuits and he’s doing fine.

So what do you all think? Should little boys be allowed to run amok with guns? (Or little girls for that matter, but the story is about little boys ) Should teachers get over themselves (mainly women, apparently this is all just part of the feminisation of education, *sigh* ) and get with the plan and smile as they are ’shot’? Or do weapons have no place in places of learning?

(And yes, I’m still clearing and sorting. I’ve removed two boxes and three bags of videos from the cupboard in the living room, now I’m going to bring some of my books down from upstairs and then take the rest from the dining room upstairs, and then I can take the two sets of shelves out…right at the moment it looks like a bomb has hit though. I forgot to take before pictures, but I think I’ll take an in progress one right now…)

the family will be back early to midlate afternoon. I’ve had a nice lie in, I’m about to have a cup of tea and some breakfast, and then I need to excavate the kitchen, the living room and the dining room. I may take pictures as I go, or I may just get on with it. I’d like to actually make a couple of hours make a difference to our quality of life and if I can find enough dining room to get the table in there, I can do precisely that.

Wish me luck.

edited to alter eta

Aargh, why has our local freecycle group decided to moderate my messages? I want to get rid of stuff now!

eat curry (tick).
watch a film
play scrabulous in the adverts

Working well so far

with only me and the cat in the house.

Very very odd to know that the rest of them aren’t going to arrive back in the near future (within hours that is, rather than days). Trying to resist the urge to just log back on to work and kind of ignore being here - I should be revelling in some personal space, whereas actually I’m feeling rather lost in it. However, I do have the kettle on, some rice cooking and the oven warming up, so I’m resisting the temptation of just eating crisps and chocolate for tea!

It was quiet at work as well - we’ve a barely more than skeleton staff covering through til the 2nd now. I could easily have left on time, but there didn’t seem much point in rushing home to an empty house, so instead I got petrol and sauntered around Tescos for a bit, getting something half decent to eat for each night. Pathetic that I can’t cook really, but if I bought ingredients, that would be the most sure fire way to ensure that I did end up on the chocolate and crisps

So I’ve perused blogs, read the news, fed the cat, put food on, checked my email and it isn’t my go in any of my scrabulous games, and there’s no one to rant at (I could rant at the cat I suppose, but he won’t even grunt in the right places like Tim usually does) so what shall I do next?

Decisions, decisions. Drove home with a pile of ideas for stories rattling through my head and as soon as I’ve walked through the door most of them have departed. And I’ve all these good intentions for sorting, tidying and cleaning, but really I just want to put my feet up and laze…maybe I’ll have a cup of tea first.

So parents among you all, what would you do with a couple of evenings off? No other half, no children, still got work to go to in the day so it isn’t all luxury, but come on, what would you do?

Small is packing - Tim is taking them away for a couple of days.

“I’m taking everything that makes me happy” he said.

“Are you taking any books?”

In tones of great indignation, with hand gestures and all, he said “well of course I’m taking some books! I said I’m taking everything that makes me happy!”

That’s me told then.

I’m thinking about subscribing to a magazine with some of my christmas cash (and banking the rest to pay off the cards ), but I’ve only seen one of these mags in the flesh, so to speak, so thought I’d ask for opinions.

Craft - I’ve seen this one, it’s hefty, almost booklike. Pros include the fact that I could go for a digital subscription only, therefore cutting down on stuff winging its way around the world and cluttering up my house (although it may take a little more work before I’m really happy with that option, does anyone know how to wean themselves off the physical objects in favour of the bits on screen?), cons include the fact that it’s got a whole lot of crafts in it that I’m probably never going to be interested in. Prices for UK subscriptions are:
Print Edition plus the Digital Edition: US $49.95 (For your convenience, your subscription will renew automatically until you tell us otherwise. To cancel your subscription at any time and receive a full refund for the unused portion of your subscription, call 818-4887-2037 )
Print Edition Only - 4 Volumes: US $49.95
Digital Edition Only: US $26.95 That’s for 4 magazines.

Crochet today Never seen this one and have to admit that the patterns in it don’t exactly leap out at me. Seems a bit twee basically. International: 1 year (6 issues) for $24.97, so it’s cheaper than the digital only version of craft, even with shipping (but there may be a reason for that). Pros, it’s cheap, cons, it’s twee.

Interweave crochet I used to read crochet me on and off, and the editor from that has now gone on to edit interweave crochet mag. Have to say, it looks a lot less twee than crochet today, although I’m still not 100% convinced by the patterns on display. Costs are a little higher at 4 issues - $21.95
8 issues - $38.95
Add $7.00/year for foreign postage
I guess I’d really like to see one of those before I committed to the full subscription, but I’ve not yet found anywhere that stocks them in this country. Pros, I like the editor’s style, cons, I’ve never seen it.

So, those are my options so far, and I’ve no idea what to choose, if anything (my usual approach to these is to agonise about them for ages, and then do nothing).

Anyone any thoughts? (Of course the other alternative is that I actually practise and get a bit better at knitting, then I’d have a whole range of choices, some actually from this country :?)

It’s been a joint effort, Tim, Big and myself. Big is thrilled, and she’s already build a shed to go with it. Then this morning I spent two hours building LEGO - Batman - 7786 - The Batcopter: The Chase for Scarecrow so that’s done too. Small is likewise thrilled, but the kit doesn’t allow for building anything else. Not sure I approve of lego of that type to be honest, seems to rather defeat the purpose.

We’re eating the leftovers from yesterday’s festive meal (or at least Tim is, he’s got the other half of the chicken to get through before he goes away tomorrow) and I’m resisting the urge to run out to hobbycraft with the £70 I was given yesterday by watching the story of stuff over and over. (If I watch it enough times, the shops will be shut and the point will be moot. Wish me strength.)

Tim is most thrilled with his slippers (although his are grey rather than pink), and I was very touched by the scarf I got from my stepfather - the label said “I saw this and thought it was you” and I was psyching myself up for an appropriate response, and then was really happy with it - it’s all colours and oh so very soft. I might even post a picture later (if I can work out how to get it from one computer to another and make it a reasonable size. Sometimes I’m such a technophobe.)

All in all, it’s been a good christmas. The wine helped though

OK. As before, presents make prizes.

Courtesy of Jax’s sister Jilly. The Rubbish Christmas Awards 2007 Grand Prize is this gorgeous, stylish egg timer, with a ****ing cow on top.

Remember, even if you don’t win the Grand Prize, we are offering two runners up prizes of special Poundland, buy anything in the shop, tokens.

You have to be in it to win it, so start digging out that tat and submit your entries in the handy box below.

I think Small would have been perfectly happy if he had only had the Batman pyjamas….

Jax and Big are now collaborating on a 3D jigsaw in the form of a Lego house. May take all day.

But Optimash Prime went down well too.

We are currently drinking the first bottle of Jax’s wine purchase for Yule.

It has been something of a struggle.

“How do I get the wire off?”

“I can’t get the cork out!”

“Man!”

“Man!”

But the wine is excellent… it is also 14% alcohol. We may be needing another bottle.

Kim Wilde & Mel Smith - Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree

how many of the rest of you are running around going “but I’m sure I put it there”?

Bleargh. Is it time to open the christmas wine yet?

Got Harry Connick Jr on the radio, but I’m still not feeling festive. Desperate maybe, but not festive

Updates

Been a couple of days since I’ve blogged, and sure enough, I’ve pretty much forgotten what I’ve been up to. There was work - mad dash to the shops on the way in on Thursday to pick up leaving present for one of the team (and I wish I’d had a camera ready for a snap of his face when he saw the singing Elvis teddy bear we got him too), and work’s night out, last night. Another party, another exploration of lesser known realms of west yorkshire (Almondbury in this case, a place I know, but I couldn’t find the church hall). And we took the kids to sister no 1 for Christmas no 1, which was good, but has raised excitement levels to fever pitch among the offspring.

Worthwhile notes, I’ve actually beaten Tim at scrabulous, and not only once, and I went shopping today, braced for it to be horrendous and actually it was pretty much deserted. Almost depressingly so - one shop had a member of staff who appeared to be trying to go to sleep on the counter (he had a hangover he said, I had no sympathy) and others had “clearance, everything half price”. Not very festive, all told.

Other than that, I’m wondering where I’ve put the dvd I got Small. Gotta love that safe place Should make for an interesting christmas eve hunting for it. But at least I’m done shopping. One way or the other. Except for food, we’ll be making a trip out, one or the other of us, for food tomorrow. Think it’ll be chicken and assorted veg, probably with roast potatoes. A family meal, if we can find the table. Should be nice.

The Story of Stuff

Trailer

More at The Story Of Stuff

How not to burgle a shop.

The Royal Channel

I found the 1957 Christmas broadcast fascinating.