Yesterday I was searching on the internet for phonics worksheets with the a-e grapheme (words with an “ay” sound made by the silent/magic e ). I found a worksheet where you had to match words to pictures - ideal. One of the words was “cave” and the corresponding picture was of a typical Easter morning cave tomb, complete with stone over the entrance, being rolled away by…the Easter Bunny!
I kid you not!
Just a quick note to say that I haven’t actually disappeared off the face of the earth. Life’s been pretty hectic though. I’m on holiday though this week so if you are lucky you might even get another sparkling post from me before too long!!
I don’t know why it is! I’ve so much to do today and instead I’m sitting drinking tea and writing on my blog. I’m visiting my parents in Gloucestershire tomorrow. Between now and then I have to:
go to the library;
do a bit of last minute shopping ( whist avoiding any roads within 2 miles of our local rather large and well known shopping mall);
wrap lots of presents;
take clothes out of the washing machine and somehow get them dry before tomorrow;
tidy up;
tidy up some more;
do some ironing;
check there’s nothing going too mouldy in the fridge;
write and deliver christmas cards to my neighbours;
make some notes about the children I taught yesterday as I will have forgotten anything at all sensible about them by next week;
check the tyre pressures on the car;
clear rubbish out of car;
pack to go away.
Meanwhile my bedroom looks like a cross between a primary classroom gone wrong and a Chinese laundry and the living room looks like Santa’s present wrapping workshop on a very bad day.
So far I have actually managed to:
get out of bed (2 1/2 hours later than I intended originally)
have breakfast
have a shower and get dressed
put some washing in the machine (with fingers crossed that the brown camisole top doesn’t run too badly and discolour the white bath towel)
do the washing up;
get stuck on a sudoku (procratinating);
make 2 phone calls (more procrastinating);
hve another cup of tea (yes you’ve guessed it, even more procr….).
I’m working on the theory that I’m procrastinating because I feel overwhelmed by the tasks that need doing - what do you reckon?
I think I have invented a new sport.
I mean, how else can I explain it? These extreme sports are on the risky and physically dangerous side aren’t they? So then of course it makes perfect sense, when people ask me how on earth I’ve managed to get such a grazed and bruised face, to say, “Oh I went to a Bible study.”
The truth of the matter is that I tripped hurrying up my friends’ driveway, went flying at speed, put out my hands and knees to break my fall, but neglected to tell my head that this meant it could cease all further forward momentum. Consequently it wacked itself very hard against the tarmac. So now I have a bruise and graze on my forehead, bruising and swelling over the bridge of my nose and in the corners of my eyes where my glasses impacted with the tarmac (and my face) and another bigger graze on my chin. I have also taken a nice chunk out of one knee but of course that’s rather less dramatically visible!
Fortunately it is all cuts and bruises and no broken bones. Also fortunately I chose the right Bible study group at which to injure myself. After all it’s not often that you have a GP, a surgeon and a nurse on tap to help you out! They managed to patch me up quite efficiently between them (although the nurse, whose house it was, had no plasters and they had to be fetched from the surgeon’s car!). Strangely I turned down the offer of having all my wounds stitched though (!) and was very glad that I hadn’t broken my nose as the description of how it needed to be set before the swelling started didn’t seem that attractive really!
So I am, really, fine. Its funny though how a fall like that can really shake you up. I felt most peculiar yesterday and have decided to take it easy this morning and not go to church. I will go this evening when I’m singing in a choir for the Carol Service. I think I’ve got something a bit similar to mild whiplash as my neck and shoulder are extremely achy!
That means today will be a strange mixture of having a lie in (check) completing a sudoku (check) updating my blog ( check) catching up on washing and housework (um er…) wrapping and finishing making Christmas presents ( even more um er…). Perhaps I’d better go and get on with it all! Though maybe I’d better make myself another nice cup of tea first. After all it is supposed to be good for shock!
Oh dear! Things are not easy at the moment. Having chatted to my counsellor yesterday, I’m understanding a bit better why I’m feeling as bad as I am, but it doesn’t make it much easier to deal with. I think that grief about my Granny has also triggered feelings about other griefs and hurts from the past.
I’m finding it really hard to get myself to go to bed at night because I’m scared of the depths of feelings that may happen as I try and relax and go to sleep. Conversely I don’t want to wake up in the mornings because I’m scared of the feelings that may flood in as I gain consciousness!
I also keep feeling angry - on the surface with dear friends who don’t deserve it but also, underneath about things that have happened in the past. The worst thing is trying to come to terms with the fact that hurts and lack of nurture I experienced as a child, can’t be made up for by anyone in the present ( secretly I keep hoping that it will!). I feel like I need to let myself be angry to some extent but not so much it becomes overwhelming!
As you can see, your prayers are much needed and welcomed!
Well it’s a long time since I’ve cried so much in one weekend. The funeral did go well and it was good to chat with distant relatives I don’t see very often, but overall I just feel very sad and keep wanting to cry! I’d forgotten really how close I was to my Granny when I was very little, but now I keep remembering. I feel very tired aswell as very tearful and have had 2 rather disturbed nights with not enough sleep. I’m not really feeling like getting back in the swing of teaching tomorrow, though it’s possible that being with the children will cheer me up somewhat. I am feeling pretty low though. Thank you for your recent prayers - any more that you can spare would be appreciated!
A very quick post to say thank you to Jack for her lovely “Let it Snow” man and Christmas candle. It was really exciting to get a parcel this morning!
Not time for more now as I’ve loads to do before the funeral tomorrow.
Today has been a funny old day. I’m still feelingrather strange following my Granny’s death. I can’t exactly describe it but it’s a kind of “out of sorts”-ness. I had some tutoring cancelled which gave me some extra time and I used this ti take a nap to make up for the fact I didn’t get to bed ver yearly last night because I was playing Scramble for ages to unwind from the phone discussions (multiple - going on till 11.pm) I had with my Mum and Sister regarding the funeral programme.
I am now wasting time on the computer ratherthan having some proper tea and getting to bed by 11pm.
So… I guess I’d better go and eat!
Well - instead of playing yet another game of scramble on Facebook ( and who got me started on that I ask you!) I thought it might be time to explore this exciting new blog format. I’m still getting used to it but at least I’ve now worked out how to put a new post up.
I know it has been such a very long time since I last posted. I’m not sure exactly why except that I have been pretty busy. Ive taken on 5 new tutees since August - really good, but quite tiring getting to know so many new ones at once. I’m getting nice comments from parents about how much I’m helping though which is really great.
I’ve been rather at sixes and sevens this week and haven’t got as much done as I would have liked. Last Sunday my Aunt and I had arranged to go down to Cambridgshire to see my Granny. I stayed with my Aunt on Saturday night so we could get off early in the morning. At 7.00am though we got a phonecall to say that my Granny had died.
We still went down to Cambridgeshire and were able to spend some time with another Uncle and Aunt and my cousin and her little boy, so that at least was nice. It was a very long and emotionally draining day though. I reckon I’m only just beginning to feel more myself now. My Granny was 96 so it wasn’t exactly unexpected but it was still something of a shock. I found myself really wishing she had held on for another 24 hours till after our visit.
Anyway that’s my main bit of news for this week ( Sorry it’s not more cheerful). I have been reading quite a few blogs even though I’ve not been blogging myself for a bit. Hopefully I’ll be able to blog a bit more often.
- taken the car for a service and then collected it again;
- sorted through all my toiletries, thrown out loads of old stuff, cleaned the bathroom shelves and put everything back on;
- done 3 loads of washing;
- had 2 snoozes.
I’m about to multitask cooking (OK- defrosting and re-heating) my tea, clearing out some books and watching T.V.
I’ll let you decide which bits constitute “doing a Smudgie”!
