Challenge 366 Noisy

Well Daniel was out of the house today so all has been very quiet.  Sarah has cleaned the inside of the car today, bless her.  We are now all sorted for our holiday as regards a clean car.  So the noisiest thing in the house today has to be the boiler.  The heating works fine apart from the clanging of the pipes apparently all to do with the size of the pipework and the pressure of the boiler.  So today noisy is the boiler, or it could be the constant washing of the washing machine or the tumble drier trying to get everything done, dried and ironed before we go away to Devon late this week.  I know we are all looking forward to finding some time just to chill for a while.

Challenge 366 Teeny Tiny

Well another day of the holidays and doing my best to make a teeny tiny impression on sorting out some of the clutter in the house.  However my clutter would not make good photos.  I thought I would look outside and lo and behold the daisies are just coming out.  A teeny tiny start to see spring flowers coming out.

Sarah has also been helping, not so teeny tiny either.  Today she went and stained the bench outside as well as giving my car a much needed wash.  She has been really helpful.

Challenge 366 Childhood

As soon as I saw the word I knew what to photograph and the reason behind buying this house.  Bluebells!  My memories of my dad are always associated with bluebells.  Sadly he died when I was four years old yet I can remember going out in early spring to the woods near Rhiwbina to look at the bluebells.  I still love them today and wish I could bottle the scent of them, the true scent of them.  The woods behind our house is always full of them and a few have now travelled into our garden across the ditch especially for me.  I went out to do some gardening earlier and there they are the first few are opening.  Its like my dad is there with me however strange that sounds.  So the bluebells are the one flower I think of when I hear the word childhood.

Challenge 366 Daybreak

Well this morning did not start well and I would have taken a photo however did not because of an unfortunate incident.  I got out of bed and stood on a Queen bee.  So my thoughts were not on photos after that and the photo would not have been a good one.  I am still hobbling a bit this evening but did manage to stop the pain with vinegar this morning.  Not the best start to a day when I had already overslept until 6.25.

Challenge 366 Dinner

Had to be a very quick dinner last night as both children were supposed to be going out to various activities.  Note that I said "supposed".  Sarah decided that after spending 5 hours tucked away in the art room yesterday that she had enough concentrating and took refuge in the shower for an hour or however long it takes.  Daniel arrived back from school after doing badminton, his latest craze and was too tired to make a move towards the door again, ten minutes later to get to Cadets.  So both children stayed home and vegetated.  Dinner a quick and energy given meal was not necessary and a more sedate option could have been chosen.  However the chicken and pasta went down well and was quick and easy to fix.

Challenge 366 Morning Routine.

Well I am always up first in the household when Martin is on leave.  So usually I get up and make the packed lunches for all and sundry - I so love the holidays simply as there are No packed lunches.  I am usually up about 5.45am, have my shower, get dressed and come downstairs.  I somehow manage to do all the chores needed by about 6.30 and then stand at the bottom of the stairs and yell up them for Sarah and Daniel to get out of bed.  Now sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, sometimes there is no sound of movement until at least 7am.  Then they wonder why I am frantically trying to get them out of the house by 7.40 so I can be in school and in my classroom by 8am getting ready for the day ahead.  In all this I usually find time for my cuppa and my early morning log on to chat to some of my friends on UK scrappers.

366 Challenge 9PM

Usually around 9pm I give my mum a call just to check all is okay and catch up on her day.  However she was out babysitting so after having a lovely chat to Michelle I was in the process of getting ready for my trundle up the stairs to bed with my kindle and a hot cuppa.  I find that unless I get an earlyish night I feel sleepy the next day however I can be up early in the morning and bouncing around by about 6am.  I think I am definitely a morning person.

Challenge 366 Clock

I am getting behind again, school life is just taking over at the moment but I will endeavour to do bits when I can.  I spent today in the garden and started out there early this morning so it seems fitting to show the clock that sits on my garden wall.  What a fantastic day out there.  I took my camera out though and enjoyed just playing with it seeing nature first hand.  I love spending time outside and am happy once the garden looks tidy.  It is looking really good now and will look even better when I get rid of lots of junk but am waiting until the Easter hols so I can remove some of the excess bits and pieces that have collected and when Martin has returned to work.

Now for the next one of my nature shots today, I love experimenting with my camera.  It could do with a little more light but I was pleased that I actually managed to get the bee in flight.  The heather was out today as well, beautiful attracting all the insects.

Challenge 366 _ Hobby

Right lets get back to this daily blogging business after my mega catch up this morning.  Ofsted you are not going to beat me back again.  Don't think I will ever be as quick there as Lynne has been this morning.  However hobbies is an easy one.  Scrapping of course, photography, reading, gardening.  All of course seem to be covered in one way or another with some of my photos but went off to my scrapping room and here we go.

Challenge 366 - Music

Come back to bliss but the music one is easy.  I love my i pod and often listen to it as I drift off to sleep or am sitting in the car waiting for the children or generally just chillaxing.  I love a variety of music.  Have to say as I get older I prefer the easier on the ear music than that played by two teenagers but always as we return from football matches on a Sunday afternoon we have to listen to the top 40 in the car.  I suppose when I was Sarah's age I wanted to listen to that too.

366 Challenge - Wild

Phew nearly caught up now. Pretty wild morning here going around getting my photos sorted but still peaceful as I look out into the garden and see that the wild bluebells will be coming through in the next few weeks.  The woods behind are greening up and will soon spring into life. I love bluebells as they are very special to me.  My dad always took me to see them when I was very small, sadly he died when I was four.  The smell of them always, always remind me of him and I often go to the back of the garden when they are out, early in the morning to just smell their fragrance and remember.

Challenge 366 - unusual camera angle

Cheating again as not have done shapes in nature yet but I want to get dressed and go out to find some shapes rather than wander around the garden in my dressing gown.  This one was easier for me as can sit on the floor and take silly photos in the comfort of my night attire!  I suppose with a little more time and thought I could have come up with some more unusual angles but hey ho.

Challenge 366 - Garden

Somewhere I have not had time to visit recently or at least work in.  However I am hoping to sort that out during the Easter holidays that are fast approaching, although not fast enough yet.  Even when I am sat in the dining room working I am looking out into the garden watching the activity of the birds, searching for nesting sites, visiting the nest boxes, watching the antics of the animals.  Sometimes if I am lucky the deer that live in the wood behind come and visit along the fence line.  




I find the garden a peaceful retreat from every day life and the hurly burly.  As we are so near to Gatwick we often hear the planes taking off or coming into land.  I find this comforting in a way and love to think about where people are going and feeling slightly jealous of their adventures.  However it is also good when we fly off and return to spend time in the garden as we look out of the plane and can see our house as we come into land.

366 Challenge - Plant

We nurture the plants we put in the garden and hope they will grow, yet sometimes nature provides a helping hand and plants them for us.  I have a beautiful buddleia that attracts the wildlife in the summer, I bought it from the garden centre down the road, however nature decided that one was not enough and came along and planted another for me just outside my kitchen window.  I hope that once again this year it will bloom and the insects will flock to it.  I love sitting on the patio watching the bees and butterflies as they fly towards it.  Its a sign that summer and warmer days is on its way.

366 Challenge - fuzzy

Okay this one could be cheating as I really can't remember the exact time and day but several mornings were fuzzy due to the intense fog and it was like driving to work in braille some mornings.  The country lanes are gorgeous on a bright sunny morning but on days like this, they are an absolute nightmare.  Add the lack of common sense by car owners who cannot manage to find their lights and you can imagine how dangerous it can be.  I often have a bit of a rant as I am driving along on these " fuzzy" mornings.  Oh and by the way I didn't take the photo whilst driving, my son did as we were photographing doors for my daughter, but that of course is another story.

366 Challenge - floor

One of the irritants in life is my rug in the hall, it curls, it moves, it goes everywhere.... Who has to uncurl it?  Who has to move it?  No one else seems to see it apart from me.  I like it because it keeps the carpet in the hall clean and tidy but I am still looking at keeping it in one place or maybe just making my family a little more observant.  Oh maybe not, miracles are in short supply I would think.  

366 Challenge - Cooking

I am going to catch up if it kills me!  So before you start cooking where do you need to go, into the cupboard to see what you have or in my case what vital ingredient I am missing.  I don't mind showing my cupboard now as I cleaned them out during the last school holidays and there is nothing lurking there now from years past.......................all up to date, well at least something is.

Challenge 366 - Arranged

Well I needed to catch up with all the photos and blogging so might as well make a start.  Not sure if I have all of them but I will do my best to keep up..... phew mega job on here. The first one is arranged, my life is usually arranged by my children and their activities and so I thought a picture of my calendar is always a good place to start to see what has been arranged for the week ahead, where we are playing football, taking part in athletics or who I am meeting for coffee.  March looked like a light month but alas it wasn't, it was just that some things are not arranged on the calendar as info is in my school diary.  However not only did we have visitors in school we also have the forthcoming parents week and a football tournament to look forward to.  I am looking forward also to my own children s presentation evening at the athletics club shortly.  I wonder if there are any medals or trophies to win this year?

Missing in Action or maybe just in "hiding"

Following the visit from the big O in school I really didn't feel that I had the energy or inclination to chat.  I was really ill during their visit as well and just about managed to get through the visit.  I did get a good from them for my lesson observation and was told I could do this or that etc to improve even further.  Well yes I could and did if the person observing had come in twenty minutes before he did or followed me around school for the past few months.  There is only so much you can do in a twenty minute observation.  Shame the same inspector did not see the child who was running around the school a few years ago creating mayhem, sitting there concentrating and "learning", or the same child who have never been on a school trip due to unpredictable behaviour, come on a trip to London the previous month, on public transport etc.  Yes, am sure any teacher can understand fully where I am coming from....... However to be an Ofsted inspector you seem to have to wear blinkers and look only at numbers and not at individuals.  I have never seen a school so angry as I did the other week and that includes our governors and the local clergy.  We haven't had the report yet but we are not expecting much.  

With all that and a dreadful cough and cold I have not felt much like chatting or blogging, losing the will to natter.  Hopefully with the support from good friends and colleagues things are now getting back on an even keel.  I have had a lovely week in school, no I didn't plan this week at all.....rebellious behaviour took over!  You know the week worked as well and we achieved some fantastic work.  I went off to the local cross country meeting with a group of children on Thursday and had a wonderful time as well.  I have also been asked to take the boys and girls to a football tournament in the last week of term as well and so will be looking forward to that.  Teasing one of the boys in my class ( a little bit of a handful) told him that he would have to contend with me at the football if he went, he said "That's okay I will enjoy that!"  Well that made me realise why I teach!  

Not the best of weeks.

Feeling very bleurgh ( is that a real word I wonder?)  Have been suffering badly with aches and pains, runny nose, sore throat, shall I go on?  All since the weekend.  There I was in school on Monday, feeling really rough, thinking I might just go home and go to bed at lunchtime.  Now I never think like that but the thought of games outside and looking after an excitable class, followed by a staff meeting, just was not doing that for me.  But alas, someone was not looking after me.  As I was sitting there marking books whilst my class were doing a test, in walks the Deputy Head to say all teachers required for a meeting at lunchtime.  Now that could only mean one thing as any teacher knows.  A meeting in the middle of the day.................hmmm.  Yes at 12.15 we were told that we were expecting visitors this week.  Visitors that are not exactly welcome....... the big O.  Oh don't we love Ofsted.  I could hardly go home and jump into bed now.  So for the past few days we have been tidying up, sorting out our planning so it is more detailed etc etc.  Today is D day or should that be O day?  


Have had to stop all my photo challenges for a few days as well as putting my illness on hold.  Perhaps with the ethos of the school I will SHARE my germs with the Ofsted inspectors.

Challenge 366 Chairs

Well we were off to the athletics again, this time for the triple jump competitions.  Somewhere in my brain the idea had been planted that they were both jumping at 2.30.  Good job I checked the timetable as Sarah was jumping at 12.30 and not 2.30, so I would have been in the dog house for many years to come had I got that one wrong.  So back we went to our chairs in the middle of the two sandpits.  Not very comfortable and have to say I didn't use them that much but here is a photo of them.

First of all we watched Sarah and she came in third and got another bronze medal.  It was a very close fought competition as the girl who got second got the same jump of 10.08m as Sarah, however it had to go back to the next best and I think she beat Sarah by a cm.  Never mind, she was pleased with her medal win and a good start to the season.

Daniel did very well as not only did he come away with a silver medal, be broke his previous best of 10.58 by over 50cm and got his new pb of 11.17m.  He was really pleased with his performance.  He did well and his jumps were consistently over 11m which is a good sign of the new seasons achievements.  Well done to both of them, I am very proud of them both.

Well done to the rest of the East Grinstead team as we came away with a good selection of medals this weekend.

Challenge 366 - Flat

Still have to sort out my Friday photo as haven't had a chance to take my comfort photo, can't think about comfort at the moment as not feeling too bright, really sure throat, hacking cough etc.  


However yesterday was a good day despite that.  Took the children to the Surrey Indoor Athletics Championships.  Both were entered into the long jump.  Daniel did really well jumping 5.46m for his best jump and he came fourth in the competition.  It is so good to see him back in competition as he didn't do that much last year but seems to be more focused this year and wants to do some competions.  Now for the reason for the photo post................Sarah has done well in the competition most years.  She didn't start off well with a jump that she would have been able to do when she was an Under 13.  She continued to improve however on her fourth jump, I really don't know what she did but her foot seemed to catch on the take off and she appeared to do the splits in mid air and fell FLAT into the sand.  Everyone was worried that she had hurt herself however Sarah got up, as Sarah is known to do, with a beaming smile on her face.  At the end of the competition Sarah finished third and won a bronze medal.


So although the photo isn't of her flat on her face it seems fitting to post it and one of Daniel landing on his jump, not brilliant as you have to be careful what pictures you take there but it shows how proud I am of both my beautiful  and talented children.

We are back there this afternoon as both children are competing in the U17s triple jump competition.  Lets hope the falling flat doesn't happen today.

Challenge 366 - Grass

Well I am sat here shattered so am not going out again scrabbling in the grass after just arriving home.  Our grass is more moss that grass whereas our neighbour seems to manicure his lawn.  Ours has a homely, lived in look!!  So I am cheating with my grass photos and use some taken in the last week.  I have no grass at the bottom of our garden, it is wild and let run to geraniums and brambles, mixed with some grasses and bluebells when they come out!  The other is of the black bird that visits the garden, he has been wandering around pulling up worms however is always there for seeds that may drop from the bird table.

366 Challenge - Grey and Extraordinary

Well I didn't even manage to get my camera out yesterday to do anything as it was a busy day in school and a busy evening with the children delivering to various places.  So I am going to cheat and you one of my photos taken today for yesterday.

Shades of Grey

Today I went with our Year 6 classes to Southwark Cathedral to do a drama workshop based upon the Olympics and the Ancient Greeks.  We had extraordinary day out of school, impeccable behaviour from all of the children both travelling to and from London and in the cathedral.  I can honestly say I enjoyed the day with them all and was very proud of them.  I even managed to get outside the cathedral and take some fantastic shots as well as inside at the extraordinary architecture.  A lot of the stone inside the cathedral is grey so I am putting both words together.  

Looking upwards

The extraordinary shot for me was the one of the cross at the back to the cathedral with the art work of David Mach.  I decided looking at it all day that I didn't really like it for me it was too modern and I think I must be more of a traditionalist.

Extraordinary

Playing with photos

Have had a lovely weekend, very relaxing and spent lots of time playing with my photos and trying to learn more about my camera. My favourite this weekend has to be be what I did to our poor guinea pigs after using them earlier in the week for the 366 Challenge.  Thanks to Suzie for pointing me in the direction of some great photography sites to manipulate my photos.

366 Challenge - Light

What a beautiful day out there today, soon be time to take my daughter to her football match.  However I went for a bit of browse in the garden this morning, it certainly needs lots of tidying out there.  I was thinking of today's prompt and thought of the sunlight.  I started just taking photos in the garden and these two are the ones I think show how bright it is today with the light and the shadow.  I love the shadows cast on the tree and I love how some of the garden is in shadow and some in light in the football shot.  Enjoy the sunshine everyone.

Just a proud mothering moment.

Daniel has gone out tonight to his squadron  ATC ( Air Cadets) Dining In Night.  Just dropped him up there and hopefully Martin will collect him later.


He is all dressed up and very proud of his new tunic that he has to wear.  There he was this afternoon doing his ironing, ensuring that all was spick and span, creases where creases were supposed to be.  He is growing up so quickly and looked so smart.  Feeling very proud of him tonight and thought he looked fab.  Apparently they will start off with the meal, watch some entertainment, listen to some speeches and generally have a good time.  He is always enthusiastic about these evenings and loves the formality of the situation.

Challenge 366 - Saturday

Well my Saturdays are normally spent doing washing, ironing, football delivery and support, athletics delivery and collection and planning for school.  So not a really exciting day in the main although saying that Daniel's football team won today 6 - 2, we were really pleased as that means they are still top of their league.  So my photo today is my pile of ironing which is still sitting in the dining room awaiting rescue.  Alas it may not be done on Saturday but may be still waiting there on Sunday morning a bit like my maths planning.