A Good Day.

All week long I've been thinking about the fact that you have to do without something for a while before you truly appreciate it and today simply confirms my thoughts. It was sheer bliss to lie in bed knowing that I could turn over and go back to sleep if I chose, (which I did at 6.30) or lie cosy under the duvet and listen to the radio. But would I feel like that if didn't have all those days before of having to get out of bed and off to work while it is still dark - I think not. Having properly working taps all through the house is wonderful after weeks of only one tap in the kitchen, yet how many people long for that basic of life ? And heating at the flick of a switch is something else I'm so grateful for. Although I love to have the house full of friends and family being back to just 2 of us seems so quiet and so simple. Another of my current pleasures is being able to load the washing machine instead of boiling kettles and washing clothes by hand. I even get pleasure from walking on the new carpet in the downstairs corridor, so soft and springy and clean. Thank you boys for dealing with that job. To make the day even better the sun came out, not for the whole time but enough to entice me out to the garden for an hour (after necessary school planning had been done). Well wrapped up I cleared the fallen leaves and weeds from the gravel in the grass bed by the scree garden. Every tiny weed pulled is a potential monster removed and the leaves eventually break into many small bits and make a mushy mess on the stones which is nasty and harder to remove. Failing light and a hailstorm stopped play but enough had been done to generate of satisfaction.
Bread has been baked, housework done and even the drive has been repaired after the the heavy rain so I can look forward to a relaxing evening and there is still Sunday to enjoy.

No Snow, No Jab.

The predicted snow failed to arrive, just a lot of very heavy rain. Luckily it stopped just raining just before we set off to walk up the hill in the dark. The sky was a little lighter than yesterday as the clouds began to break up and it was quite pleasant to be able to stride up the hill and not worry about slipping on the ice.

Same old busy day at work. At least the children were able to get outside for their playtimes and burn off some energy.

I left school early to drive across town to see about a flu jab at Sainsbury's but all the publicity of the last few days has resulted in not a flu jab to be had in not only this area but anywhere at all. (And they won't be getting any new stocks). I should imagine that all stocks are being diverted straight to the doctors' surgeries where there had been some shortages. I shall have to keep my fingers crossed that I don't catch the flu because unlike most of my colleagues I don't get sick pay. I spent quite a while in Sainsbury's seeing what they had to offer and buying a few items in their sale. The range of goods is better than my usual supermarket but they are also generally more expensive. I treated myself to a small bag of dried cherries to nibble on as I drove home. I've had some of the pheasant casserole which is not bad. It mainly tastes of the tomatoes and other vegetables but the meat adds an interesting flavour. Having done my self-imposed quota of housework I'm off to collapse in the bedroom (the only place I can watch tv comfortably) before I fall asleep at the PC. zzzzzzzzz

A Pleasant Pheasant.

Pitch black again this morning on the way to work. The sky was just beginning to lighten and show a hint of dark blue as I arrived at school. The day flew by and soon it was time to tidy the classroom and head back home. I'm not the only one at work feeling so very tired and wishing the holidays had been longer. The next thing we will have to contented with is the 'flu which seems to be on the increase once more, (11 people died this week!) I can't have a flu jab from my doctor as they only do at risk groups (I used to be able to persuade my GP that working with germy children put me at risk but she stopped giving me a free jab 2 years ago.) Last year the nearest place you could pay to have a jab was Exeter 60 miles away but I've heard that the pharmacist at our local Sainsbury's does them so I'll try for that. This latest 'flu is making people ill for up to 8 weeks so it would be well worth trying to avoid that. A view from school towards the junior school with my classroom/hut on the right.

At work a colleague offered me some pheasant (shot yesterday) which I eagerly accepted as I had planned to make a hearty soup/stew in the slow cooker anyway and the pheasant would be perfect for that. I didn't even have to skin the bird as it came already skinned and jointed. I've added parsnips, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic along with a good dash of red wine. That will be something to look forward to tomorrow evening. Tonight we've left both our cars at the top of the hill as the forecast is for possible snow (on high ground- which is us), from midnight right through to 6.00. The long term forecast is for rain, then more snow possible the following week-end. So on a positive note this is a good time to be working full-time as outdoor jobs are not much fun at this time of year and if I was indoors I would be using up our expensive heating oil. This way I'm earning money and keeping warm at the same time.

Time Management.

Not a single photo today. It was pitch dark when I left this morning, so dark I had to feel my way around the car to avoid falling over it as I walked to the passenger side to put in our recycling box (it was rather full after Christmas and visitors). The journey home was not much better as the heavy fog obscured visibility. Even with the car's lights dipped it was difficult to see the road ahead. It was only because I know the back road so well that I was able to maintain some speed. Coming around Ashelford Corner I saw a car in front of me lighting the way which was a real help until I realised I had driven past our turning and had to reverse back.

I can't believe it is only the second day back at school, it seems like forever. One of my New Year's resolutions was to make better use of my time. I seem to be tired all the time but if I can spend 30 mins each day doing some small task around the house at least some things will get done. It was as I was coming up with this wonderful idea that I worked out exactly how much time I have available. Shock horror! During the week, each day I spend;

10 hours at school constantly on the go,

1 hour travelling time,

1 -2 hours school work at home.

Which leaves me with 11 hours for sleeping, eating, housework, relaxing and feeding the animals (cats & hens). At the week-ends I spend 4-8 hours on more school work and that's not counting the time when sleep is not possible due to school stuff whirring around in my head. No wonder so many people leave the teaching profession. I wouldn't want to do this for the rest of my working life but I am truly grateful in this economic climate to have a job. The temporary nature of my contracts means that I take whatever hours I am offered because I never know when I might be back to working much fewer hours. In the meantime I shall concentrate on making the best/most efficient use of my time and not waste (too much ) time on mindless tv watching. Also I can look forward too driving to work through the sunrise, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Back To Work.

I didn't take any photos today so I'm showing off Vytas' lovely long hair. Romas' hair is nearly as long and Linas now has shoulder length hair but used to have very long hair too. Can you tell that I think long hair on men is great? Today was the first day back at work and I am so tired. My own fault for staying up late and then being woken in the early hours by a cat wanting to go out. Added to that the fact that it was dark and cold and dark! when we left for work left me somewhat unable to dredge up a lot of enthusiasm for the day (and it rained for most of the day). The children all commented on how quickly the day had passed which at least indicates they had been focusing on their work. We watched some of RiverDance on a dvd and attempted some basic steps. I think it will be more fun when we have some lively music to dance to.

Snow Again.

We woke this morning to a dusting of snow once more. The road was fine so I took the Micra up to the top with all our rubbish from the last 6 weeks. The dustmen only come once a fortnight and the last 2 times it was snowy and we didn't feel like carrying the bags half a mile up the hill. Now with all the extra rubbish from the holiday I'm hoping that the dustmen will not be held up by the snow. My day has mainly consisted of housework, general tidying up, hoovering up the last remnants of the tree, putting the decorations back in the loft and taking the second table out of the kitchen. Apart from the snow outside the window there is no sign of the holiday, sad but peaceful.

We had a brief spell of fat snowflakes drifting out of the sky but the forecast is for rain. I can rest easy knowing that the Micra is at the top of the hill and I can get a lift up with Peter as we both return to work in the morning. Now all that is left to do is to watch a short video about Irish dancing and learn a couple of steps to teach to my class tomorrow. This dancing lark is a bit of a case of the blind leading the blind but we all have fun. At least when we move on to English Country dancing I should be able to drag up memories of dancing at school and more recent barn dances with The Oggle Band.

Sshh!

All is quiet at home, very, very quiet. For me this is the sad part of the holiday knowing that it will be months before I see my boys again. Indeed last year it was Easter until I saw Romas and August before Vytas returned home. Linas is that much closer and does come back for the occasional week-end. But today the house is almost silent, even Peter has gone into town to get some things from the DIY store. I started taking down the cards yesterday (recycled into shopping list cards or next year's gift tags) and this morning I took down all the decorations. Before the boys left the tree was cut into burnable pieces and if I'm lucky the decorations will be soon packed away and back up in the loft. (Last year's tree decorations spent the whole year in a bag under a side table in the living room.)

Yesterday's lack of post (when I was going to detail my New Year's resolutions), was due to a major pc disaster. I've had the parts for a pc upgrade sitting here for some months so the boys decided that they would swap everything over yesterday. That way Romas could have my old hard drive etc to replace his which had finally bitten the dust. Unfortunately the end result was 3 dead pcs - DISASTER! I need my pc for work and Romas also has vital work to do for uni. More hours spent resulted in my pc being back up and running with all the old parts but the new mother board is no more, possibly static has killed it. Poor Romas has taken his salvaged parts back to uni but needs to buy a new mother board and some other vital parts. Such a shame. Romas and Vytas had been really helpful in the last few days, laying the new hall carpet, washing my car, putting extra lagging on the outside pipes and climbing up into the loft to blow out some of the airlocks in the plumbing. Our plumbing is not back completely but we have running hot and cold to most of the taps, what luxury. You think you appreciate your home comforts but doing without really makes you realise how good it is to have heat and water. It now feels like we are living in utter luxury.

This morning I repaired a pair of slippers that Romas likes to wear all the time. New furnishing fabric soles and a felt patch made Vicky's old slippers like new.

Yesterday the boys had planned to play a wargame but the pc swap disaster took up the whole evening so I took a photograph of part of their armies before they packed them away.

Lots of school work done this afternoon with just a little left to do tomorrow before our return to work on Tuesday.