Chilly.

I'm not too sure what the weather has been like today as I've been teaching all day. I know it's been dry and it was sunny in the afternoon. It still feels cold in the wind and I'm back in my fingerless gloves at the pc as my hands were freezing. 

Today's class was one I don't teach often but things went reasonably smoothly. I stayed after school to mark all the books and was on my way home by 4.30. Next week is the half-term holiday and as I'm not working tomorrow I'm now officially on holiday. 

It looks horribly as if the sparrows' nest has been raided. As he was getting into his car this morning Peter saw a bird go up to the sparrows' hole in the wall and then fly off with a small bird - fledgling? in its beak. I went out and saw a female blackbird flying right up to the sparrows' hole and though it happened quickly I'm sure it grabbed a fledgling out of the nest. And now it all seems very quiet there. A quick search of the web has only shown one possible similar case with a blackbird though magpies are well known for nest raiding.

A Visit to the Dentist.

Today I had an early morning phone call asking if I could come in to work. I had to decline as later on I had an appointment to have a tooth taken out. It was a shame to loose a morning's pay but then again it can be a bit stressful rushing in at the last minute to teach with no preparation. When I booked the appointment back in March the next available date for this dentist was in July and I wanted to get things started asap. My appointment was for 11.00 but even as I was booking in I heard that she was running 40 mins late. That left things very tight for me as I like to be in school by 12.30 ish to prepare for the afternoon though the children don't start until 1.20. As it was my appointment began at 11.40 and was over in half an hour. This is a much gentler dentist than the previous one I saw, she even rubbed on the 'magic' numbing gel before doing all the injections. Fortunately the tooth came out relatively easily with only a bit of pain. Putting in stitches took longer than the actual extraction. They don't normally put in stitches but with the medication I take I end up with a 'dry socket' and need antibiotics. The stitches should keep the hole closed until it heals up. It was a bit embarrassing turning up at work with my mouth puffed up like a hamster because of the swab I had to keep in for an hour. Once I'd taken that out and had a painkiller it wasn't too bad and I coped with  an afternoon of 2 phonics lessons as well as RE. 

 Seen this morning, a company name to inspire confidence?

For once there was no staff meeting as everyone was working on reports. All I had to do was extract my RE planning from my emails, write a few notes and pass them on to the Year 1 teachers. After that I went to the Co-Op to buy some ice-cream. On the extraction after care notes it says to have an ice-cream and pain killers after one hour, (didn't have the ice-cream due to being in school) and to eat cold, soft food for the next 3 days. Ice-cream for supper then.

Cold.

The cold wind is still bringing frequent showers. This morning I made another of my Heath Robinson inventions - an extension to the outside sill of the stair window. Because of the size and pitch of the roof at the back of the house when it's raining heavily water shoots off the roof, bounces out of the gutter and waterfalls down past the window. It then lands on the cylindrical oil tank which sends the water back to the wall of the house creating damp. This is my second attempt and this time I think it will work. I found a piece of wood that could fit over the window sill and extend to the far side of the oil tank so water will be sent away from the house. Because I didn't have enough lead flashing to cover all the wood I used lead at the top end with some roofing material on the lower part. When I first looked at the photo I thought it didn't show the extension clearly but then I realised that it is a good thing that it blends in well and doesn't hit your eye when you look out of the window. The real test will be when we get heavy rain. (Several builders have tried adjusting the gutter to solve this problem without success.) 

Once again it stayed dry for my PE lessons which today were all about throwing and catching. At one point they were in small groups throwing bean-bags around the circles, all except one group of girls who spent the whole time arguing over whose turn it was to throw. 

It was still  nice and bright when I got home so I had a sort out of my plant pots, lots to take down to the dump, and then spent a happy hour scrambling about on the bank and weeding in the sunshine.

Stormy.

We've had some wild weather today. This morning the wind was so fierce that as I drove past the gateway to Youlston Park a gust pushed my little car sideways. A bit scary for me. Besides the wind there have been frequent showers but fortunately it stayed dry for my 2 PE lessons. I went into town before work for an appointment. A friend had given me a voucher for the beauty salon and now that Rachel's wedding is near I thought it was time to get my eyelashes dyed. My short, fair eyelashes are a bit of a lost cause especially as I tend to rub mascara off so don't generally bother. However I do always smudge a line of eyeliner pencil along the lower lid. For once I parked in the main car park and took the opportunity to take a stack of Laura Ashley plates to the charity shop.

I took these dramatic photos as I was driving home. I may even use one to cover my new academic year diary. 

At school I was very pleased to find that I had won a prize in the raffle at last Saturday's coffee morning. As I wasn't there for the drawing of the raffle Nic had chosen for me, she knows me too well! In the hamper were chocolates, some bath products, face masks which will come in handy for a bit of pre-wedding pampering, scented tea lights and this pretty cup and saucer. I had been thinking about getting a cup so that I could make these tempting microwave cup cakes though they will have to wait until after the wedding as I've still got a few pounds to lose to get to my wedding goal. 

Deer, Deer.

Not only was there a hind in the garden yesterday but driving home last night I came across 2 more on the roads. The first was about a mile from home, as the crow flies and I had to stop while it readied itself to leap up and over the 10ft high hedge. The next was a stag on the far side of the woods which come down to our house. 

This was the view as I set off on yesterday's Nightwalk. I arrived a little late so my friends had already started but unfortunately the message they left for me didn't get passed on. I caught up with them just after they had passed the half-way mark and we had a pleasant and chatty walk back. The reason that I was a bit late was an accident on the main road which was completely blocked. There was a queue of cars and up ahead I could see vehicles right across the road. I did a U-turn, went back to Mullacot Cross and took the long way around the coast driving through Georgeham and Croyde. (I've had a quick search for more information but no mention apart from an accident at Mullacot Cross earlier on which involved firemen and the air ambulance and a 3 car collision at Chivenor at around 5pm. Must have been some silly driving because conditions were fine.)

We were treated to the sight of the sun setting over the sea as we neared the end of our walk. It was dark enough for me to switch on my multicoloured flashing shoe laces which I had wound around my ankles. The  end of the walk was marked by a burning brazier and we were greeted by the sound and sight of a samba band who had Christmas lights around their drums. Very welcome were the hot drinks and bacon baps given to each participant. 

 It was this dark!

Today I've been outside clearing weeds and stones from the edge of the little lawn by the back door. As I was working this robin kept appearing, sometimes with a beak full of bugs, to see what else he could collect for his family. He would come down to within 2 or 3 ft of me. At one point he perched on the handle of the long-handled shears but had no purchase so slid gently down to the bottom. 

There were a few big stones to move and I kept finding tiny newts which I re-homed away from my digging and raking.

Sunny.

The sun has been shining today though it has been a little chilly in the wind especially when the sun went behind a cloud. 

This morning I went to a coffee morning organised by a friend in aid of Lori a lady who has terminal cancer whose only hope is a treatment not funded by the NHS. A case of pay £70k for the treatment privately or accept a 9 month prognosis. 

My afternoon was spent pottering around the garden, mainly cutting grass in various places using the long handled shears. After that I needed a bit of recovery time out in a sheltered spot with coffee and my book. My fun day is not over yet. This evening I shall be joining some friends for the Nightwalk, a ladies only night walk in aid of the local hospice.We'll be walking along Saunton Sands on the 5 mile route. I am able to walk 10 miles but not at a good walking pace with my arthritic knee. Last time I did it, it was a great walk along the beach with a fun group of friends. 

I looked out of the window 10 mins ago to see a hind walking on the back lawn! I tried to sneak out to get my camera but she saw me and disappeared across the stream. I'm wondering how she got out of the wooded field which has a high deer fence (to keep the deer out but some are in there anyway). I've recently been in touch with the owner of the woods who has given permission for local residents to walk in the woods (he gave me the number for the combination lock on his gates so I didn't mention that we can climb in from our end). I might actually get around to exploring the woods rather than just watching through the window.

Weird Clouds.

I got home from work today to find this beautiful hand-crafted invitation from Vytas and Sally with a blue necklace incorporated. The small card is a stamped and addressed reply card though I think they might be able to guess that we will be coming to the wedding. 

The day had started bright and sunny though at lunchtime it all turned grey and I wondered if I had made the wrong decision leaving my coat at home. It did brighten up later and got quite warm. On the way home I could see 2 weather fronts colliding producing some very weirdly shaped clouds.

I've had a good day at school teaching the children how to write instructions. Before they wrote any instructions they had a 'poor' example to correct. I'd written a rambling first person account of making a jam sandwich but had not given it a title. I sat with one group of children and asked what they thought the instructions were for. One child said toast and jam when I pointed out there had been no mention of doing anything to the bread apart from putting butter and jam on it he said with sudden comprehension 'Oh, raw toast and jam!' That did make me laugh.