The littlest boy's desk. He gave me back his two pen pots and is going to keep his pencils like this from now on. You will note that they are all freshly sharpened. Name tags are on, new shoes are out of the boxes, the borlotti beans are in and the scent of fresh notebooks is in the air. Oh how I love a new notebook.
The row of pencils got nudged earlier into an untidy mess. The littlest boy was quite cross and blamed me. Me! Who of all people understands the joy of a neatly arranged line of things. Order has been restored, although I am still suspect number 1. It's so unfair.
The biggest boy is now at the big school. So far so good I think. The food is delish, although I fear the lunch queue may be ghastly once the whole school is there at once. Apparently he's not learnt anything yet, but any day now.
The littles also went back today. I straightened things up, dusted, hoovered, you know how it is. I plumped things up and they stayed straight and plump all day. Then the mud and the noise and the crumbs returned and life was good again.
I've been limping a little this week after turning my ankle all the way over playing football at the park on Bank Holiday Monday. We were supposed to be watching a cricket match, but you know, bank holiday + cricket = rain, so we did the park thing instead. The other half said helpful things like, "Up! Get up!" and "Run it off!". I stayed down in the damp and the mud for a bit making faces and grunting. A&E on Tuesday, apparently I shall survive. I have exercises to do that include writing the alphabet in the air with my toe. All uppercase. The children keep standing on my foot. I didn't realise how often they do that until now.
If you will excuse me I'm off to play with my notebooks. Wishing you all an excellent September. CJ xx
I hope your ankle is better soon. I'm always hurting my legs and feet. People are used to giant bruises on my shins, nobody even asks if I'm okay/being beaten at home anymore. Enjoy your notebooks; I buy myself a new one most years when school starts too. :)
ReplyDeleteOuch! I hope your injury goes away fast. I'm also a mess, my shoulder still hurts, my right knee catches painfully when I twist it wrong.. and my right hip is hurting. But I am still swimming and hoping it all works itself out sooner than later. Now I want a new notebook! But I don't need one.. I have a ton of stuff in my newly organized craft studio. Maybe I'll go shopping in there! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteHey CJ,
ReplyDeleteOh dear I hope you are bending it like Beckham again soon. I often hurt my foot by doing that ankle crunch thing? I'm glad all is well at big school. Mine found the transition hard. So did I actually.
Keep straightening those pencils, CJ.
Leanne xx
Ow that ankle thing really hurts doesn't it? I recommend arnica cream on it. Whenever I mention arnica the hubby & middle child roll their eyes. I do hope it feels better soon. Impressive variegated beans and pencil display! xx
ReplyDeleteI am certain that you have no idea how very much I love hearing about your boys. Tho. we are so far apart, tho. my boys have children of their own, it brings back so many memories...many so hilarious, some sad..but mostly all filled with the joy and delight of boys. My, God..but they are so precious and maddening and wonderful and shouting down the goodness of life. I do have a grand daughter and she is a love and such a gift to me. She will be eleven in a few days and still wants to sleep with her grandmother..I know that it will change soon..but what a gift. But those boys, those memories.
ReplyDeleteForgive me for waxing on.
Best to you, Ellen. and I do send healing thoughts for that ankle.
You do have a way with words, CJ., so vividly capturing the pathos and humor that wrestle with each other in life, and energize us to take our next breath. I resisted buying a new notebook and more pencils today when I was out and about, but the temptation was huge! I hope you and yours have a great September, and that your ankle heals rapidly!
ReplyDeleteWe've just done the trip to Smith's to stock up on new lever arch files, stationery etc. It always reminds me of that bit in 'You've got mail' (I love a nice Tom Hanks film!) where he says he would send her a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils in autumn. Glad the transition to big school has gone well and I hope your ankle recovers soon - you did make me laugh with your husband's suggestion to 'run it off'. Careful you don't accidentally nudge those pencils! xx
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with girls and notebooks? I can't resist them either and nor can J. Luckily I need loads :-). Have also ordered some new drawing pencils. Great Excitement. Hope the ankle is now mending. I second arnica but suggest pill variety. Being able to describe the alphabet (even if all capitals) with your toes sounds like a useful ability to have. Perhaps even a money spinner? Hope Big School continues well. L took to it like a duck to water and continues to enjoy going (not for the work tho, apparently). I was far more worried than he ever was! Nearly the weekend..... Xx
ReplyDeleteI can smell this post CJ, the scent of freshly sharpened pencils, the autumn allotment (your borlotti are way ahead of mine) and best of all the smell of boy when they come home from school to a house filed with the aroma of warm cake. My favourite time of year I think. Have a great September and do hope your foot feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteI always read your posts with a smile, hope your ankle will be ok very soon! Happy September Anita xx
ReplyDeleteI am grinning like a Cheshire cat, you have such a way with word and always make me smile. The beans really are looking good and now you have got me thinking notebooks....
ReplyDeleteouch you poor thing, sport is dangerous. sit with your notebook with your feet up xxx
ReplyDeleteI love that bit in the film ' You've Got Mail ', about sending bouquets of newly sharpened pencils in the fall...
ReplyDeleteI hope your ankle feels better soon. Whenever I asked my two what they'd done at school, the answer was always Nothing. Eleanor's not back until Thursday, it seems a really late return to school this year.
ReplyDeleteThat's an impressive line-up of nicely sharp pencils, and a good haul of borlotti beans.
ReplyDeleteIt's just notebooks but the smell of all books, new and old. I hope that your ankle recovers soon.
Thanks, and you too. xx
Dear C.J, I hope your ankle will be better soon, nothing like a foot injury to slow you down. I love the scent of new school books and pencils, I love coloring in and drawing. I like how your littlest boy has arranged his pencils, all sharpened and in a neat line, he sounds like such a sweet little fellow. Glad they have all settled back into school but I always missed my three when the holidays were over.
ReplyDeleteTake care!
xoxoxo ♡
I hope the biggest boy isn't unreasonable in his expectations; one isn't really expected to learn anything at school, ever, as far as I know. It's all about stationery, as your orderly little one has realised. And lunches, of course.
ReplyDeleteAnd may the ankle soon recover; you are too droll to be hampered by medical issues for long.
Oo, I do love that orderly line of pencils and the smell of a new notebook.......ummmmm! Hope your eldest son settles into his new school. Ok, have to say I regularly say to my daughter when she gets knocked over at football - "get up, run it off". Although, I very dutifully played the doting mother recently, I sat on the sideline and held an ice pack over her ankle for 15 mins!
ReplyDeleteHope your ankle soon repairs, perhaps in time for the next football match.
Caz xx
What a fabulous set-up of pencils I do hope he can keep them like that but I fear ructions for you! Oh poor you with your foot, the ability to draw the entire set of the alphabet in upper case sounds very impressive. Will it become your party trick I wonder? xx
ReplyDeleteI hope your ankle feels better soon! Be sure to relax a bit more and use it as a reason to play with those new notebooks! I agree that there's something about the smell of new school supplies. A few years ago during this time, I found myself at the store buying a large box of crayons. I didn't plan on coloring anything. They just smelled like my youth and made me smile seeing them all sharpened and lined up in rows. Hope the boys are all enjoying being back in school, and you're getting a few more moments of quiet:) I always enjoy the quiet more when I know that the noise and excitement will be coming back soon:)
ReplyDeleteWhen my boys were school age we always spent the day before school sharpening pencils. Often we would have to pop into town to buy new stationery ...more for me I think than them. It's lovely to hear that such things are still important in our technological age!
ReplyDeleteI remember spending hours sorting through my colouring pencils as a child. I still do actually. I have my own secret box that must't be messed with under any circumstances. Big school is good. My Annie started, too. She is loving it, particularly the after school and lunch clubs. Not sure about the learning. Enjoy the borlotti beans. Cxx
ReplyDeleteI love the line of pencils, I can't imagine they will stay straight for long, and the beans are such a fantastic colour, I hope your ankle heals quickly. New note books, new books, I love the smell too, it's the small things :)
ReplyDeleteI love this line..."Then the mud and the noise and the crumbs returned and life was good again." I hope your ankle feels better. I'm sorry that happened...so inconvenient. The same thing happened to me last August. Have you tried writing sentences with your toes? I found it a little more entertaining than random letters. Feel better!
ReplyDeleteAh life is always full of crumbs and noise when the boys are around. Actually I think I have some crumbs on my table from Little B right now. Hope your ankle is better, why do the men in our lives always think we can walk it off?
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
I like things straight too! Oh, and the scent of a new notebook!! I just got some lovely new clips for mine yesterday, it seems that I am now accessorising my notebooks! Hope that your ankle is feeling a bit better by now. Take care of yourself and let someone else do the energetic stuff! xx
ReplyDeleteA boy after my own heart! I love things all lined up neatly too! Hoping the ankle is getting better.
ReplyDeleteIf the beans are in then it's definitely coming on for Autumn. I'm not holding out any hope for an Indian Summer now as I actually put the heating on for half an hour yesterday, having got really chilled sitting down. That's a bother as this year would have been my finest year for tomatoes if they'd ripened. I've bought my son some lovely warm brushed cotton shirts for going back to uni - I think it will be a colder winter this year so am thinking clothes rather than notebooks. Maybe I should think about stationary too, come to think of it! Wishing you a speedy recovery of the ankle, what rotten luck to injure it! xx
ReplyDeleteI love the pencil pictures, good luck with the new term! x
ReplyDeleteFresh notebooks are my favorite, in fact I usually use that line in my 'about me' pages haha. Those pencils look so pretty all lined up. I hope your ankle feels better soon!!
ReplyDeleteYou had to go to A&E? You poor thing! I hope it's getting better now, us mums get no sympathy. I like your pencil photos. They are very pleasing to photograph, aren't they, pencils? I hope you have a good week ahead with more cushoin plumping. I do love a freshly plumped cushion. xx
ReplyDeleteI just tried writing the alphabet with my right big toe. luckily our workstations are enclosed so no one could see me. I got up to F.
ReplyDeleteand those borlottis look amazing - aren't they the prettiest bean?
I hope you recover soon CJ!
Oh no, poor you - take care of that ankle and I hope it feels better soon. With your football career on hold and the boys back to school hopefully you're getting time to rest it a bit? The borlottis look lovely - I've grown these for the first time this year but haven't picked any yet, I was a little late sowing them but they're coming along nicely. Have a good week. Jxx
ReplyDeleteHello CJ, there's something lovely about freshly sharpened pencils... :) It reminds me of a line from the film You've Got Mail - have you seen it ? Meg Ryan speaks of "bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils". Have a good week, Fiona x
ReplyDelete