Continued yesterday with a walk out with the offspring to look for blackberries, while Tim went out to shop. We walked through the large (mainly ex-council) estate behind our house, and didn’t see any children playing in gardens, or on the road. Then we walked down through the woods and along a path towards the canal. We met a couple of families, one with several children, all of which were having to be coaxed along (it’s not much further now Shannon!). Then we found some brambles and picked for a while, before continuing along the path, to stare at all 30 feet of the canal (must look up where it used to go, I think there are plans to join it all up again, but could be difficult if it’s been built over really).
Then we walked along the back of the new estate, Tim had told me he’d seen a playground round there. Have to say I was doubtful, but sure enough, at about the middle of the back of the estate a path and steps led down to the scrubland we were walking through, to a small and very abandoned playground. The kids were thrilled to see it, and we spent about 40 minutes there. Right up until the last couple we didn’t see or hear any other children, then just as I was persuading mine it was time to go, a boy and girl, around age 8 or 9 I’d guess, appeared. They didn’t greet us or acknowledge us at all, just got on with running from bit of apparatus to the next. It was all quite sad tbh, it was obvious that someone goes down there a fair bit given the graffiti and the rubbish, but the grass around the little climbing frames was overgrown and two of the swings were missing so obviously no one performs any maintenance. It’s a lovely playground, but we don’t let our children play out any more do we? (I include myself in that, my kids have never been round to the rec without me, and I wouldn’t take them there myself, the last few times it took too long to clear up the glass and dogdirt before I’d let them play.)
Evening involved fish (for Tim) and chips for us both, and then some ReGenesis
while I continued scan reading a Ben Elton novel, Inconceivable
. Can’t say I was impressed – I remember him as much more edgy, and this was trite and predictable. Not really worth the £1 I spent on it at the charity shop, but as I’d managed to pick up Ramona the Pest
for 20p during the same visit, I wasn’t too depressed.
Today has followed a similar pattern to yesterday – woke up after 9, read some more Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work
(really, really enjoying this, it’s a fascinating insight into a world of the past in so many different ways, as well as being interesting about the Montessori background). Then I had breakfast (handpicked blackberries and melon, yum 🙂 ) before getting on with some paperwork up until lunch time. Budgeting is going slowly – I’m not finding the mse spreadsheet particularly intuitive to use, and we don’t necessarily break down our expenses in quite the way he does. I want to fill it out first and find out the lowdown before I start adjusting it for our specifics though.
After lunch we went out to look at craftbaskets and bags for Big. Local hobbycraft had classic sewing baskets and knitting bags, as well as some artbin totes of various kinds, though not the one that artbin market as a needlework tote. (Hm, should have asked whether they ever stock it, didn’t occur to me at the time though.) Big was quite taken with an artbin click n go tote, as well as a sewing basket for a mere £35 (eep!) while I’d seen an artbin needlework tote online earlier, and thought it looked better, but now she’s just confused. So I’ve sent them outside to run around in the hope she’ll come up with a decision without too much trauma. We’ve just had another bout of questions about death and dying and it’s all getting quite hard work from time to time – earlier she asked whether she looked better when she was smiling or when she was frowning, and I said smiling, so then she asked me why she frowns so much. Um, not sure, you’d really have to explain that one to me I had to say. Does anyone have a manual on this bit? It seems pretty tough. And whoever is stretching her overnight so that every time I turn around she seems to look taller, I’d quite like if they’d slow that one down too.
Right, must be time for another cuppa. Trying to make sure I drink as much water as tea as well as eating fruit, which is getting to be really difficult when all I’m doing is craving chocolate. Work through the cravings or give in? There’s a good question for you all!
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