Monday 9 November 2015

Jam today










Can anyone else see the Dark Mark?
Smiley

Dark Mark again (right at the top, slightly left)
my favourite firework

Remembering
It was a good weekend. Everyone was nice(ish) to everyone else. The food wasn't bad and by dint of some frantic between times cleaning on Sunday afternoon the house ended up cleaner than when it started.

We had a wander in the city on Saturday afternoon then went to the allotments to watch the firework display in the evening. 

The littlest boy had football training on Sunday morning, then we went to watch the bigs in their matches, and he played some more. Then he went to the park in the afternoon while the middle boy had the Remembrance parade, and played some more. By the evening he had come over all peaky and actually asked to go to bed, which is literally the first time this has happened in living memory. I don't think it was to do with all of the running around, that's a fairly normal Sunday for him, rather some passing lurgy. 

He managed to secure a scrumptious day off today by dint of still looking deathly pale and having a headache this morning. Around about 12 o'clock he said, "Can I have jam on toast for lunch?" I said, "Jam on toast for lunch???  Certainly not, that's absolute insanity having jam for lunch." He said, "Sometimes, when people aren't very well they can have jam on toast for lunch." He is learning that if he puts his case neatly I usually give in when I've finished laughing. Jam on toast for lunch it was. 

As the term kicks into full throttle the calendar is filling up in a ridiculous way with all sorts of demanding things. Wear a hat that you made day. Wear a Tudor costume day. I haven't fully recovered from Roald Dahl day yet. The headmaster emailed me at the weekend and thanked me for offering to take a load of boys to an away football tournament for an entire morning this week and said yes, he would be taking me up on the offer. I have absolutely no recollection of making any such offer.

You may recall I'm doing a little writing course, and I'm trying to find a few hours for it. And trying to make life as easy as possible. The school do not appear to be on message. If anyone needs me I'll be hiding in the cupboard under the stairs.

30 comments:

  1. A lovely leaf strewn path and park bench, very inviting, wonderful historic buildings and houses and great fireworks. I hope your boy is feeling better now; toast and jam sounds good. :-)
    xoxoxo ♡

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  2. You are exercising your writing prowess and photography skills through publishing your delightful posts, CJ :) I know, I know, it is not the same as completing whatever writing prompts you are given in your course, but hopefully your posts are warming you up for completing your assignments. Isn't it interesting how a child's school assignment and activity absorbs a parent's life? It is no wonder that in the chaos that ensues jam on toast and some extra rest is required to recover and prepare for future chaos! xx

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  3. Oooooh, spooky - that definitely looks like a dark mark in the first photo, the second looks more like a ghostly child's face to me and I love the smiley one. Poor you with the football trip - maybe the head got you mixed up with another mother? Your son's plea for jam on toast is very cute and well reasoned; I'm all for a bit of jam on toast when I'm under the weather. I love the houses with the window boxes; you do live in a very pretty part of the world. Have a great week and good luck under the stairs! xx












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  4. Fabulous firework photographs (alliteration - does that count as wordsmithery?) and again, your neck of the woods is so pretty.
    I know exactly what you mean about endless commitments and busyness. I'm really worried about it at the moment - it's a horrible drowning sensation.
    Trouble is, I'm terrible at saying no to people. It sounds like the school have identified you as a Useful Parent... Hope you're a bit more assertive than I am and can get out of some of the things you 'agreed' to.
    Have a great week and enjoy the writing course:)
    S x

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  5. I've really enjoyed your photos today. Hope all your School craziness goes well :-)

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  6. Don't you hate that when you just can't recall volunteering to do something... Good luck with it. Jam on toast was definitely the right decision! And your writing skills shine out in every post, they are always a good read.

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  7. As always a most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. It's good to see that you had a good weekend.
    Have a good week. Flighty xx

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  8. Fabulous fireworks! Hope that all goes well with the school trip and that jam for lunch isn't needed too often! Enjoy your writing course! xx

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  9. I remember this half term being so busy when my two were at junior school, always something going on. Your firework photos are great, I stayed in and watched the display from the upstairs window.

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  10. your fireworks look lovely, and your parade a whole lot drier than ours, which was the parade of the drowned rats.......

    make room in your understairs cupboard for me too, I'll bring a pot of tea x

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  11. Great fireworks pictures, yes they learn quickly how to get round mum!, as for school diary it's the crazy term, so much to do in so little time. Enjoyxx

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  12. Lovely pictures as always...you may be asking for jam on toast after you bus all of those boys around. I hope the littlest boy is feeling up to par by now.

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  13. I still have an Anne Boleyn costume, a Victorian school mistress outfit and Stuart lady's outfit left over from such events days when I was teaching.

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  14. Love your fireworks photos. Hoping littlest is feeling better. Jam on toast - perfect! And such a sweet way of reasoning!

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  15. Lovely pictures of Bristol the last time we walked Tavi around there in October it looked so different. i'm glad you had a good weekend with the family. Oh dear,the headmaster's phone call must have been such a surprise! Sarah x

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  16. My MasterM used to have terrible tantrums when he was little but one day he discovered that if he made me laugh he got what he wanted and the tantrums stopped immediately. I must say that it is a life skill that he has used successfully in many situations since.

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  17. Every now and then my two request jam or nutella sandwiches for lunch at school. I always say no (and silently curse the parents who let their kids eat that at lunchtime) yet they keep asking. Maybe they think they'll wear me down.

    You always make me chuckle with recognition and a sisterly feeling of "me too" CJ. I have a "spots and stripes" day, Christmas Jumper day and Tudor dress up day to contend with before the end of term. Send help. xx

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  18. I love that you can't remember offering to take the boys to the tourney, ha! You are a busy one! And yes, we have so many "things" and so many people that we still want to see and activities that we want to do. There simply isn't enough time to carry on at this pace! I'm secretly holding my breath for soccer season to end in 2 weeks. Tomorrow is our Veteran's day and I keep waiting for someone to tell me that practice is cancelled that evening.

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  19. your first image is just like a postcard, I could imagine sending that home on my travels, signing 'wish you were here'...
    I love the grey stone building too.
    good luck getting thru the demands of school. cheeky schoolmaster, probably just said that to you to see if you'd comply without question!

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  20. Your school calendar is sounding a lot like mine. I've barely sat at the computer in weeks and I feel so out of touch with blogs right now. I'm glad you had a nice weekend and that things went basically smoothly. I love the same kind of fireworks you do. The glittery kind is my favorite too. :)

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  21. I love your pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!

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  22. Fabulous fireworks photos (Dark Marks and all). Hope you find more time to do your writing. You're very good at it. Could you squeeze a desk into the cupboard under the stairs?! Sam x PS I sometimes have jam on toast for lunch...

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    1. Yes, but only if I get rid of the hoover and the ironing board... CJ xx

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  23. Jam memories definitely to cherish! You have made me laugh....hope the cupboard not too small. B x

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  24. Such wonderful firework photos! Be careful of hiding in cupboards. A few years ago, an electrician working on our house insisted on calling a meeting every morning, just as I had poured the milk on my cereal. One day, I hid up a corner in my children's tiny Wendy House to eat my Crunchy Nut Cornflakes while they were still crunchy and he found me and held the meeting in there. Not that I'm suggesting for one moment that the teaching staff might join you in your cupboard... perish the thought.

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  25. Maybe the headmaster emailed the wrong person! There's something really great about having jam on toast for lunch.

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  26. Oh yes, the joys of a jam sandwich. I have denied them to my children for many years but now have relented. I like them myself. The cheek of the headteacher is quite astounding (unless of course you have been volunteered by a youngster)... We are flat out with the usual madness (final Roald Dahl show today, thankfully only one parent allowed and it is Richard's turn. How many authors are that celebrated??). Make sure you take a comfy cushion and a blanket to your cupboard, a flask with hot chocolate, a reading light and a book. Have a lovely day. x

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  27. Stunning photos of the fireworks. Just lovely. I hope you;re making to find time for your writing course among the busyness. Term really is cranking up a gear! Have a good week! x

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  28. I love the lamp posts, especially the ones on the footpath. Reminds me so much of home. Thank you.

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  29. Those houses in muted tones are gorgeous, I do like grey shades. Jam on toast for small poorly boy's lunch sounds just the thing. I have to admit to putting jam in the girls' pack lunch sandwiches usually on a Friday when I've lost the will to live and any imagination at all regarding pack lunches. Yes! I can see the Dark Mark and also a firework shaped jellyfish with a halo of tentacles! xx

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