Thursday round up: good stuff

How are you all? I am good, it has been a good week so far although Richard's absence was noticeable. He will be back late tomorrow. I was thinking of joining Five on Friday over at F.A.S.T tomorrow but I sometimes don't get around reading the other links and it feels wrong not do read all other posts in a linkup. Here a random Thursday roundup of news.

James and Alistair working out their weekly earnings

:: Sam has finished his Higher examinations on Wednesday. He is now on study leave until June with nothing more to study. I call that lucky! Sam and I celebrated with a glass of red wine. Yes we are nothing but classy.... He also got a much wished for take away pizza dinner. He deserved it after all the hard work.

:: I deserved it, too. I had a job interview on Wednesday to continue the work I am doing now. My initial contract was for six months only. I got an email confirming that I am the recommended candidate earlier today. I am really happy, it has taken so long to re-establish myself in academia after my redundancy in 2013. My job is varied and I have a lot of flexibility, my colleagues are nice and my line manager is great.

:: Alistair was also celebrating but he didn't get any red wine. His reward was chocolate cake. He was worker of the week and for something 'real'! It must be difficult for teachers to pick a worker and pupil of the week every week! As with most things, there will be some children that shine all the time and others that don't. Mine seem to fall in the latter category and they usually get picked towards the end of the school year, in a 'hmm-lets-see-who's-not-been-awarded-yet fashion. Not this time. Alistair was worker of the week for excellent functional writing. It took me a while to tease out of him what this actually meant. He had written instructions for making a Viking brooch.

:: James on the other hand is having a bit of a rocky week. He has been vomiting all afternoon. I wonder if his unusual anger all week were the first signs of sickness. I feel a bit guilty now for not allowing him to go to his cub Scouts meeting on Tuesday. Shouting, swearing, kicking, shoving and throwing stuff before and after school... not good. Reasoning didn't help. I decided to keep him at home so he could have an early night. I don't dish out this most severe of punishments lightly, not least because it is also a punishment for myself, missing out on the usual 90 minutes of relative calm when they are both at Scouts. We had a long chat about not taking out frustrations on others and played Dragonwood so not all was lost. He was trying so hard to manage his frustrations after Tuesday and now he is sick, poor lamb.

:: The chore list is working out well so far. James and Alistair note down their chores more or less accurately and add up their own rewards on Sundays. It is a double win really, they get to earn some money and they practice adding up double digit numbers. The older two are also doing some chores. They tend to pick the those that pay the most. Of course they would! Looking after the younger siblings is a chore fought over, it pays best. Sam has lost interest in cleaning the bathroom, which is also well remunerated because of the yuck factor. Ah well, can't win it all.

:: We've had torrential rains over the weekend and some decent down pours during the week. It was well needed, the garden was bone dry, not something that happens often here in Scotland. I braved it and planted my freesia bulbs. I know, in Scotland! Yesterday I noticed that a couple of shoots have emerged from the soil. Keep your fingers crossed. A few of my new plants don't do so well. I bought them at Sarah Ravens, thinking the quality would be superior and the return for my money excellent. However, the root balls were so firm, it was impossible to loosen them up for planting (even after soaking) and of course the plants struggled to set roots. I lifted one up two weeks ago and it still looks exactly the same as on the day of planting. The cheap B&Q plants did far better. What is your experience with plant buying? I am hopeless with seeds so don't even bother.

:: I am planning a sewing bonanza this weekend. I have one dress cut out and ready to go and another much revised Sorbetto top ready to cut out and sew. I have also decided to make a shirt dress and a party frock and some more t-shirts... not quite sure when but sometime soon.

:: Instagram. I have decided that I don't like it. I much prefer words over a photo with a caption.

One more day to go then it is the weekend! I hope you have some nice plans. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. xx