Tuesday 11 March 2008

Things moving fast.


This pile of lavender arrived today but yesterday was when I could most have used its soothing qualities...

Yesterday was one of those days where little challenges kept presenting themselves. First poor Dave who is currently overworked to the point of ludicrousness due to not only being a teacher of children aged 11 - 18, but also being a teacher of teachers (known as an AST - one of the top 2% in the country she boasts proudly) which involves even more paperwork and travelling to other schools around the county to boot. On top of this he is also heavily involved in whole-school policies as part of the senior management team dealing with behaviour (!) and a number of other areas. Add to this the fact that this year he is doing his Head-ship training, a highly intensive and stressful course which only 5 people in the county have been accepted for and you kind of get the picture. Sleepless nights are many as the challenges of what is effectively the equivalent of holding down four seperate and demanding jobs are beginning to take their toll on my poor chap; he leaves home by 6.30 am to drive the hour and a quarter journey and frequently isn't home till after 7 because of meetings which I think is a bit more than most people could do with. Yesterday he rang to tell me that OFSTED - school inspectors - had rung to say they would be coming in to the school on Monday next for two days and would be only in his department!!!! Talk about the straw that broke the camel's back.

So why is it that as I blearily looked over the covers this morning I saw him clutching a bag containg a sugar thermometer, essential oils and jojoba oil? Well, he cares so much about these kids who so often get labelled by lousy teachers as 'problem' or 'bad types' that he is running a lunchtime session teaching them to mix bath lotions - sounds crazy? Yes when you consider he also has an hour's meeting straight after with the Head and an after school meeting with someone else as well as a full day's teaching; no when you think of what it would have meant as a child, a not always easy teenager, to have someone in authority choose to spend their free time doing something fun with you just because they wanted to. I think he's a star and I love him to bits!

Goodness, that ws a bit of an offload there and probably more than any of you wanted/needed to know, but I feel better for it.

On to other things... a little bit of knitting I started on Sunday for Isabella.






It will be a jacket of soft cotton with a little collar and I have to say that as stress relief knitting can't be beaten! When I have things to mull over I find there are several activities that help - gardening is great, particularly a bit of mindless weeding where I can let my thoughts drift as I work the soil; sewing is good though I do find I have to concentrate more these days as it is not me I am making things for; and then there is knitting which sees me dreamily working the stitches in a steady fashion when I have nothing much to think about, and conversely when I am feeling a little stressed (or better still am really cross over something) sees my fingers flying and the rows growing at an alarming rate! It's a great stress-buster really.


Other good things happening? Well, I completely forgot to post these pictures of something I won through another blog giveaway. This time the blog was called Raindrops on Roses and I won this...







The soap smells of rose geranium and is beautiful, while the bath crumble is a mix of rose milk and oatmeal. I am planning a long soak in the bath for Dave and I tonight so this will be perfect along with a glass of the necessary and some soothing candlelight so thank you x


And a funny - well to me anyway - thing that happened yesterday... quite often when I come out of the front entrance of my sewing room which leads through our dilapidated garage onto a drive, there is a man waiting to collect his teenage daughter from the school. Obviously this only happens around 3pm, but invariably this is when I realise I should be collecting my own children from another school and sort of erupt through the doors scaring the poor man half to death. Lately I have noticed he stands half facing the door, I imagine to try to prepare for my entrance and to avoid nearly dropping to his knees in shock! Yesterday as we all know, the weather was a challenge in itself. I was clutching a box full of Babbit legs, arms, bodies and ears intending to work on them in the evening while I watched some rubbish with the children. I raced through the door and there he was, smile in place as the both of us rolled our eyes at the furious winds in that way peculiar to the Britishzx when a particularly spiteful gust of wind grabbed two Babbit's legs and took them swirling high into the air, twisting them this way and that before stealing them away forever. The man looked at them in wonder then looked at me.

"Babbits," I said.
"Yeah, bugger innit?" he replied.


Well, I thought it was funny...

Have a good day xx

16 comments:

  1. Had to giggle at your man waiting outside!
    I've been there with Ofsted...he has my sympathy. Hope it all goes well.

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  2. That was so funny - you and the man - Babbits! Good swear word.

    Dave will surely go to heaven! Hope it all goes well for him, and you all. Headship eh?

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  3. Wow, your entire household is so productive, energetic and generous with your talents!

    Best wishes to all for continued success. Love Babbits as a multi-tasking word.

    As always, your photos are terrific. xo

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  4. Poor man - wonder where the Babbit's legs ended up.

    Wow you have a wonderful man there Pipany and he has you - a wonderful woman.

    Don't let him over do though. He is one in a million and I suspect loved at his school - but he needs to think of himself too.

    Ooooo and you knit too - is there no end to your talents. I have a jumper that I started um . . . oh about 20 years ago - still haven't finished it. Found it last time we moved - nine years ago - not seen it for a while though.

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  5. Gosh is there no end to your talents Pipany? Lovely knitting, remember to post a picture of the finished cardi.

    And all that lovely lavender. I bet it smells fantastic.

    Dave sounds an absolute star. No wonder you sound so proud of him.

    And I loved the story about the Babbits and the man. Hilarious!

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  6. Dave sounds like a remarkable man. We could certainly do with more teachers/Headteachers in the school world like him. I wish him all the luck not that he will need much of it anyway. I personally wouldn't be a teacher for all the tea in China but that's because of the way I view the "red tape" business. So often, the children suffer acedemically because of rules and regs. Sorry, I speak from personal experience.

    Crystal xx

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  7. I am always amazed at the dedication of teachers - we are very lucky in Drymen - and fume at parents who complain about them.
    Usually parents who have as little as possible to do with the school.
    Well done Dave,
    J
    x

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  8. Your Dave sounds a real saint, hang on to him.
    I love the purple knitting, you are so talented.
    The last bit was funny indeed.
    Caitx

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  9. babbits....laughed out loud. That will now become the PC alternative

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  10. Great blog Pipany, I loved the bit about the man and the Babbits, soo funny.

    Your Dave sounds wonderful, I can see why you are proud of him.

    You are so talented Pipany, and I love the colour of the pretty wool.
    There is a shop in our village named Very Nice Things, sadly it does not have a website yet, but the shop is filled with such beautiful things, and they stock the Geranium Soaps.

    I love the photo's you show us, all so pretty.

    Camilla.xx

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  11. What a gorgeous sweater! Your creativity is inspiring. Best of luck to your Dave as he goes through all the testing and studying for the head-ship.
    I read your previous blog and had a lump in my throat when I read your feelings on having only one child left in single digits. I remember when Lillypad turned 10, and I had the same wistful feeling....

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  12. Oh my favourite smells: Lavendar and Rose geranium!

    What a lovely blog!!

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  13. Love the babbits! Haven't we been battered by the weather down here...it's still gusting this morning. Just breathe in the lavender, hope calm descends on your busy household very soon. D x

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  14. Well done Dave. He's lucky to have you too, don't forget.

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  15. Dave's a star - even if he's a very stressed and exhausted one right now!
    Lovely knitting (am so impressed - can't knit a stitch), lovely soap. I love lavender and rose geranium too. Yum. Very good for stress relief.

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  16. Your husband is a special man- you and we are lucky to have him!

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