Busy Hectic Catch-Up

A LOT OF STUFF!

Days have gone to:

A weekend with a Forest School meeting, which didn't introduce any major changes but confirmed that our Forest School groups are moving forward as they are now, progressing over time as the children get older and learn more with their particular group. Same weekend I cleaned the oven and finally deflated our pool and cleaned it out - it's still hanging on the washing line, must get it into the shed! Quite an enjoyable job, better than doing the oven anyway. Rewarded myself for all that hard work with a very lovely bath. Also that weekend I had online book club, hadn't much enjoyed that month's book but the one for next month is a different story, not allowed to say more about what I think until book club night, but it is The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, if anyone wants to check it out.

Monday group sessions - we are really enjoying MMs at the moment, both of us. On Halloween we did a bit of pumpkin carving and hat-making and L made delicious pumpkin soup. Another week, after MMs we met up with J and went for pizza.

A visit to mum's where I sorted out a few things that needed doing (there are more now though). Unfortunately, although the visit was OK, the next day Freya and I got sad talking about mum and how things are likely to go with her illness. The sadness stirred up other sadnesses and when Freya wailed 'It's not fair!' I could only agree and sob with her for a while. We then cancelled some plans and stayed at home for a couple of days doing cosy stuff and watching things snuggled on the sofa. We didn't go to Ponyo, showing at the local arts centre, but we watched it at home instead.

Friday drama and horse-riding sessions. Drama is continuing every other Friday morning and home-ed horse-riding is available pretty much every week on a Friday afternoon. One Friday Freya and I caught the bus after drama and had lunch in the village near the stables before walking over for her session. She has made great progress with riding, got her balance now and this week she rode without being led.She really loves riding and I think it's her favourite of all the activities we currently do, she gets so much from it.

A weekend away for me, with some imaginary friends at a holiday cottage, up near Manchester. I got a train up one Friday evening and arrived late to a lovely relaxing welcome from two friends, then the rest arrived the next day, as did a massive Ocado shop for us to have a buffet. Had a lovely time, was great to meet one friend and her partner for the first time, having known her for so long online. They are a great crowd, I always feel instantly at home, I suppose because I spend an hour or two most evenings with them! I had to leave early on the Sunday but it was all good. Meanwhile, Freya had a very good time on a sleepover at her friend's house, thanks to very kind C. So she got to see the Junior Bonfire Procession and to watch the fireworks.

Little Green Pig writing workshops at Fabrica gallery on the Monday and Tuesday of half term. The writing workshops were themed around the current exhibition there, which featured 2 short films on the theme of 'gathering'. Freya did some excellent writing, 3 pieces. While she was in there for 4 hours each time, I was in a cafe around the corner with my laptop, getting some work done and drinking too much coffee! Very civilized though.

A Halloween Party and a Birthday Party, both held by a friend we've recently spent more time with. The Halloween Party featured each family bringing some food and a game, which worked well. The Birthday Party was at a gym and the children had an hour of free play on lots of brilliant equipment, covering every level of ability. Was proud to see Freya manage to walk along the beam, with only a little help. She also loved the trampoline with a foam pit to jump into, and the drop from the high bar into the same foam pit. It was a great idea for a party and M, who organized it, might arrange a regular meet-up there a few times a year.

A night out at White Night in Brighton

We mainly wandered and weren't very organized about finding specific things, narrowly missed queuing to sign up for the half-marathon and generally were drawn to coloured lights and video projections on buildings. Mainly an atmospheric experience for us, but were glad we'd gone. Next year I think we ought to really check out specific events and prepare better, but I don't suppose we will.

CBBC tour with, and organized by, our friends.

We did the CBBC tour a while ago, but it has changed slightly since. I thought this was possibly slightly better, not sure. We got to explore the Blue Peter set (the 'old' one, now they have moved recently). F took part in 'Gory Games' (the Horrible Histories quiz show) and did exactly the game we'd watched fairly recently, pulling the organs out of a mummy and putting them in the right canopic jars. There was also a look at a medium-sized studio, a play with green screen and weather map and 'cloak of invisibility', a bit of Weakest Link, news presentation and Dick and Dom and some time in one of the dressing rooms hearing showbiz gossip about the strange 'riders' that celebs impose e.g. having someone to carry them up and down any stairs, asking for a basket of puppies to stroke, etc.

It was a good tour, good mix of things. We got the bus back to Victoria and all in all it was a very enjoyable day.

Trick-or-Treating - a very good year, Freya visited 25 houses (all the ones with pumpkins outside in our street and next street). Lots of people were out and it was all very neighbourly and fun. We must have picked the best time I think, as it quietened very quickly about half an hour after we got in. J did a great job of carving our pumpkin, don't know where the picture is though, oops. It seemed to attract a lot of compliments from other T-or-T-ers as we passed both ways.

RI Lecture on 'The Science of Fireworks' also with same mates (in fact pretty much everything we do, we do with them!). Really enjoyable lecture with loads of demonstrations, giving good coverage of many aspects of how fireworks work, how they have developed and what has been done to solve various problems as they've developed. Along the way we saw how reactions can be speeded up (heat, confinement) and learned the different chemicals that produce the different colours (strontium for red, calcium for orange, sodium for yellow, barium for green, copper for blue, etc.). Very popular and entertaining lecture. The moment it finished I spotted M (fellow blogger) and C, which was lovely. 

Forest School for Freya and cross-trainer and bath for me.

A meet-up at Raystede Animal Sanctuary, focusing on horses, ponies and donkeys. We got there a bit late, due to my recent heavy work commitments. Had a lovely time, was good to catch up with some people I'd not seen so much lately. The children did a bit of grooming and pooh-collecting and also made treat snacks for the ponies and fed them to them. This is also going to be a regular monthly meet-up, with different animal themes, and I'm hoping we will get to it most times if not all. At the end, Freya and her friend L presented the money they'd raised with their sale in the park a few weeks ago. The Raystede people were really good and called their fundraising person over and all heard about how the girls raised the money (I was forbidden from speaking, so it was all up to the girls and they did really well). They took their addresses to send a certificate at some point. The girls chose the Equine department to receive their money.

Crazy Lewes Bonfire Night again, we met up with our friends to watch the end of a couple of smaller processions, followed by the Grand Unified Procession. We had John with us too, he'd arrived mid-afternoon. The Procession was much as ever, with the occasional novelty. An effigy/tableau of Rebekah Brooks riding Murdoch drew the most booing. I love the light from torches and pink flares filling the street as you look all the way along it. I don't much like the bangs up close.

I was not entirely in the mood for it all and did a bit of occasional moaning. But of course, later when the fireworks started I felt it was all worthwhile again. A lot of tramping around the streets trying not to get banged at before that and after, though. On the way home, chips! And astonishment at the sheer level of debris in the street.

A meal out with J's dad today at Prezzo - really delicious food and a couple of glasses of white wine. And the streets all cleared again.

Other than that, Freya has made a couple of parachutes for toys, following instructions in Usborne Pocket Scientist book. I love how able she is to do things like that now. J showed her today how to draw a larger circle without having to draw round something, using a piece of string to attach a pen or pencil to a central anchor point. She did a bit of experimenting with different toys and comparing how things fall with/without parachute, different weights and heights.

She's also been Googling for Tamagotchis, and looking at news items about giant lego men appearing on beaches, and started reading Little Women. Lots of other stuff but I left this too long and can't remember.

And that's where our hectic days have gone.