NotSheep

I did start this post less than a week after I published the last one, really I did. I used to write almost daily, long ago before life got Ridiculously Busy (having previously only been Really Quite Busy). It is still Ridiculously Busy, but I had five minutes, so I started a blog-post despite knowing I hadn’t any hope at all of finishing it the same day. That was Thursday, I think…

Last week brought a little less skool than usual, largely because Barney wasn’t here, so there wasn’t anything I could actually do for him other than provide encouragement by phone. He spent the week staying with friends near the school where he was sitting GCSE exams – maths on Tuesday and Friday, Biology on Thursday. It was very nice to welcome him back home on Friday afternoon, although his return was all too brief, as another exam this morning meant he had to return to our friends yesterday. This morning’s Chemistry went “very well, considering my recent past papers” – just as well, considering his recent past papers He felt that all his papers last week went fairly well, and he got a nice little boost on Friday in the form of his marks from the first lot of science papers, which he sat in November: with two papers each for Biology/Chemistry/Physics, he scored 45/50/45/50/47/50. As 50 is the maximum mark and the lower boundary for a grade A* is 45, I’m impressed He could now claim an A* Science GCSE if he wanted to, but he’s counting them GCSEs in the three separate sciences. After Wednesday, he has a bit of a break until the Spring, although his current OU course will be ongoing.

On Wednesday Jack and Toby and I saw an orthopaedic specialist, an appointment arranged by the insurance people. He examined us all and said that the problems we are experiencing – stiffness/soreness in necks and shoulders and, in my case, pain around my right knee – are typical of the kind of accident we were involved in (the construction-lorry-attempting-to-flatten-car incident in October). I don’t know what happens next – the insurance company hasn’t exactly been swift or helpful in any other way

Thursday was our monthly home-ed meetup, and while the turnout was a bit lower than it’s been recently, everyone still seemed to have a good day. The weather was dry enough for the kids to run about outdoors as well as play indoors – we’ve been so fortunate to find such a perfect location for meets.

On Saturday we all hid in the living-room, where the gas fire is, because we were without heat for several hours while a new boiler was installed – the old one had started to leak a few weeks ago. The stuff we put in the radiators had slowed the leak, but it hadn’t stopped it, so we decided to go ahead and replace it rather than wait until it died altogether, which doubtless would have happened during a cold snap. The new boiler heats the house just fine – unfortunately it has not been heating the water, which has been a nuisance, especially since my shower is also broken. That reminds me – I must dig out the number of the plumber who installed the fridge… The guy who installed the boiler is back this evening, trying to get the water-heating working – latest theory is that there’s air in the system, and while I sit here typing, I can hear rumbling in the pipes around the house, which I hope is a good sign.

Freddy has just run into the room to tell me that he was inspecting an insect-wing with his microscope and was able to see “hairs and everything” on it. That would be wonderful, if only he wasn’t supposed to be falling asleep! He is diving headlong into German at the minute, with the prospect of six months in Germany on the horizon. His German exchange partner will arrive at the end of this month – originally he was going to come for a weekend first, but as his family has a French child arriving in mid-February (matched with their oldest child), the plan changed. I’ve spoken with the family a few times and it feels like a good match – they also feel that way, so fingers crossed we’re all correct

George has been in meltdown-mode all day today, probably due to a combination of fatigue and failing to stick to his usual routine this morning. He complained just over a week ago that he had “no control over my own life” – which really isn’t true, but I took his point and we made a deal: from last Monday morning, he could have complete control over what he did, up until he got wobbly, or asked me for help in avoiding becoming wobbly. I sort of expected this to last about half a day, but in fact he surprised me (and himself, I suspect) by managing extremely well until Wednesday. He stuck to his morning routine every day, he chose to get on with skool stuff without anyone telling him, and it was only after a late-ish night on Wednesday (with Sea Cadets) that he started to waver at all. On Thursday he was slightly wobbly but coped through the day, and by Friday he needed support – in fact he missed ju-jitsu on Friday evening because he really wasn’t up to coping, but even so – two or three years ago there’s no way he would have done so well. I hope that an early night tonight will produce a steadier day for him tomorrow.

Louie is just on the verge of walking – and he is most definitely climbing, and he takes every opportunity to demonstrate it. He’s taken to kissing us if he thinks we’re cross or frustrated – which is, I must admit, a remarkably effective way of dealing with it. After giving me several kisses in a row, after each of which I said “thank you”, he decided that saying “thank you” is what you do after kisses, so now each kiss is immediately followed by a “danks” (or sometimes the “danks” comes at the same time as the kiss). Very cute. Now if only he’d sleep at nights…given that he doesn’t, and that it’s been a long and wobbly day, and that I am still coughing to the point of exhaustion, I think I’ll bid you goodnight