random bits and pieces

I have submitted my dissertation yesterday. Thank you all for your good luck wishes, it helped to think that you were out there keeping your fingers crossed. I feel like I am missing something and I might take a few days to adapt to evenings with nothing to do but read and knit, and watch the telly maybe. Although there seems to be precious little on that I want to watch.

Life has of course continued in the background. We had a busy weekend with our primary school annual Christmas Fair. I am the treasurer of the PTA, which meant that I was wandering around the Fair collecting money from the toys and books sales, the games hall, the raffle ticket sellers and Santa's grotto. It is amazing how heavy money is if you have to carry it around for any length of time. Annie had to step in as Santa's Elf because the regular Elf did forget to come. James and Alistair thought that the Elf looked very much like their sister. Oh to be little and gullible again. It is cute. I am not little but still gullible. It is not nearly so cute. Guess what I have been doing all afternoon on Saturday, together with the Elf? Counting coins. It took nearly 4 hours. What did people do before Excel?? Now that the money is safely deposited in our accounts I can tell you how much we raised for the PTA funds: just over £3200. On top of that we raised another £1000 with Christmas cards designed by the children. It always amazes me how generous people are! If you are into fundraising for your school, the silent auction is always popular.

excuse the mess in my dining room....
On Sunday we went for a wet walk in the woods. Well, I went for a jog around the woods whilst Richard and the little ones were exploring new paths with Jack. James has been playing silly games with Jack and got bitten in a play fight. He is covered with scratches, too. He doesn't learn (James) because he is still holding Jack right in front of his face, and chase him around the house. The rest of Sunday is a bit hazy and it worries me that I don't seem to be able to see through the fog that is my memory.

grumpy James with a Germoline covered lip
Monday was banking day and I am forever grateful for the borrowed Nintendo DS consoles to keep two little boys busy whilst the bank teller was weighing bags and bags of coins.

Tuesday was just miserable. I go drenched in the torrential downpours and was nearly blown off my bike on the way back from work. It is charming to cycle to work when it is nice and dry, when the paths through the woods are dry and safe but not so much when a storm is raging. I have been feeling cold ever since.

I spent a good two hours untangling a ball of yarn that Jack the bad dog has messed up. I now wonder if I should have just binned it and ordered a new one? At £1.69 a ball it seems a bit silly to spend so much time on a messy tangle of wool. Talking of the bad dog: he has just chewed through the back of one of our armchairs and he has the runs. Jack also finds it undignified to walk in the dark, wind or rain. At the moment it is either dark, or wet, or windy, or all three. Sigh.

Today I have admitted in public that we are indeed hosting The New Year's Eve Party. Hogmanay is a big thing in Scotland and we celebrate in style and with endurance. I have sent Richard into the wild weather to buy a first car load of Prosecco (and washing powder). If you live nearby, you might as well pop in and join in with a hearty Auld Lang Syne.

Someone has been stealing my advent calendar chocolates. I am faced with a wall of silence and still don't know who it was. They all blame the dog.

Today was also the infant Nativity play. It was "The Hopeless Camel. Again. This is the third time I have seen this particular play. Although I am always dreading school plays I actually quite like The Hopeless Camel. It is funny and I know all the songs, too. If you were a fly on the wall you could see me tapping my foot and sing along. Quietly I hope. Funny enough I can't remember the other two plays that are rotated at our school. Alistair was a traveller (all surplus children seem to be travellers), James was a camel. Not the hopeless one I should say. One of the perks of being a PTA office bearer is the front row reserved seats for officials and local celebrities (there aren't any). I managed to zoom in and get pictures of James and Alistair only.


Now, the wind is howling outside and down our chimney. The rain is battering the windows. I am in my pj's, curled up on the un-chewed armchair. Life is good. Just a shame my feet are so cold.

I hope you are having a lovely time, too. Cx

Comments

  1. Goodness you have been busy! Lovely post, congrats on handing in your dissertation, after proof reading mine about a hundred times I noticed a typo on the first page on the way to hand it in eeek!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You must be so relieved to have finished the dissertation. I'm happy for you and I know you did well. That's a lot of money raised for the school! Our school also has a silent auction, for the kids' artwork that they share every December at a special exhibition event (being held next week). Last year, my husband bid on something he thought he had no chance of winning, but he won! It was huge, too big to keep at home, so he took it to his office instead. I hope the weather isn't too limiting. Take care and enjoy the rest of your week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Once again good luck with the dissertation, with Christmas fast approaching I am sure you won't be able to sit and relax and like you say there is not a lot on TV. I miss not attending a Christmas concert but I don't suppose it will be long before the Grandchildren will be in one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bravo for such epic fundraising. Schools really rely on PTA money for essentials these days, it seems to me. Maybe it was Jack who ate the advent calendar chocs, if he has the runs? xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Enjoyed this round up, Christina, and I am pleased you got your dissertation submitted.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely post, you've portrayed it all beautifully, and made me smile. I well remember the horror of cycling to work in bad weather, it put the whole day out. The hopeless camel sounds intriguing, nothing quite so exciting here, just a bog standard nativity. Well done on getting your dissertation in, a little celebration is in order I think. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. First of all, well done you on finishing your dissertation!

    Maybe it was Jack who's been into your chocolates. That would account for him having the runs.

    I'm surprised that your school has a nativity play. In Canada, at least at public (government) schools, such a thing would never be allowed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a fabulous round up of bits and pieces. You do make me laugh. Huge well done on getting the dissertation finished, it must be a great feeling. I love that little grumpy face!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well done on the amazing fund raising!! That really is fantastic. Not as fantastic though as getting your dissertation in!!! That is a massive wonderful thing!!!!!!!! Lots of exclaiming for that one!!!!! I hope that the puppy troubles get sorted soon, a bit like the terrible twos - it passes! Glad that the play all went well and that everyone enjoyed it, lots of happy memories being made. xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. You should be wearing your year of socks on your feet to keep them warm! Good fundraising for the PTA - looks as though PTA fundraising has upped the stakes since my children were in primary school.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow well done! What a week! Maybe they should take individual photos of the kids in their costumes for the parents? Or have an opportunity for parents to take them?

    Hope you're staying warm and dry.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That is a lot of counting, it must have been heavy! Congratulations on getting your dissertation done that must be such a relief. Cold feet? Where are all your beautiful socks?

    ReplyDelete
  13. My goodness you are making my head spin with all you have going on and you seem to be handling it all so beautifully and with a sense of humor too.
    Your children are absolutely gorgeous.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  14. Out of all of that going on - I just love the fact that someone is stealing the advent calendar chocolate! It gave me a great laugh (even though it might not be so funny). I hope you told the suspects that it cannot possibly be the dog because dogs cannot eat chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey Christina,
    Phew, and a huge whack on the back for getting the dissertation in. Seriously don't know where you find the time. Oliver told me yesterday that there is a mouse stealing the chocolates from his advent calendar.....
    Leanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. You've been busy! We used to have to count the donations from the Museum donations box and it would run into many hundreds. It was always slightly nauseating to see just how filthy our hands were after handling all those coins...
    Congratulations on the dissertation. And good luck finding the chocolate thief!
    S x

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Christina, I love your chaos it is very comforting. Well done on the fundraising, that is a terrific amount. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Christina, well done on submitting your dissertation. Sounds like you are 'coming down' from such an intense piece of work and have had a hard week. We had the exact same weather too (ones, as I live near you!) and it was vile! Jack sounds a handful, and dog poop is hard enough to glean up, but when it's liquid-euurk! Hope you feel cosier soon and the coming week is a little better. X

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oops, typo, that should read (obviously, as I live near you) , not (ones....etc) Predictive text, aargh! X

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dissertation?? That is amazing! Congratulations! I know that was no easy feat. I am a student as well and there are some days that I am afraid I might just lose my mind,but then... I don't. And I manage to get through another class! I am about to do my Algebra homework after I read a few blogs! I'm so glad that you stopped by mine because I always seem to miss your posts, so I have put you right on my blog page so I shall not miss another! I don't know much about Hogmanay, but I do look forward to the photos! I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas! Tammy x

    ReplyDelete
  21. Random bits and pieces maybe, but rich ones too, that speak to a life lived well.

    Naughty Jack! It's Finn who tangles my yarn for me here, and he is seven so doesn't have the excuse that he's still a pup.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Cold feet? What about all your socks? You've been very busy and having a bit of 'fun' with Jack. I think you should just have ordered another ball of yarn. Having said that though, I would probably have spent hours unravelling it too!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Great news on getting your dissertation finished, well done you. Your PTA did a fabulous job fundraising for the school, that really is a lot of money. I'm sorry the dog is tangling wool and eating chairs - hopefully this is something he'll grow out of...? x

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

Labels

Show more