Just the girls

Because Louisa attended a YW activity without Simone and Monica (they were in Tasmania), she came home in tears - too many early teenage hormones in one room for Louisa - and because Louisa came home in tears she begged for 'some time with just you and me and Jesse' - and because she is so appealing Jesse and I dropped everything and took her shopping and playing and doing girl things.

We bought jeans and a skivvy for Louisa and shoes and a backpack for Jesse - checked out some quilt shops and the new City Farmers store. Went to a baptism then picked up Joan for more shopping. This time we bought pearl necklaces for both girls - pink for Jesse and a mix of whites, creams and greys for Louisa. They are real but were cheap. Then had lunch at Jocelyns - brioche pizzas, zucchini and mint fritters and brownies so rich they were practically indecent.

It's a bit like If you give a Mouse a Cookie around here. The YW couldn't possibly imagine the chain of events they put in place whenever Louisa goes to an activity.

Winter

It really isn't winter in Samford. But on the first grey and windy day it felt like winter and Louisa and Max begged for a day at home. They could think of nothing better than a day of quilts, hot chocolate, reading and knitting.

But I had a meeting that day and Jesse had a day at Pine so I bribed and cajoled and talked them into a day off the next day.

Luckily it was still wet and windy and cool.

It was the weather but I think it was also about being together after so long apart in different schools - the first year ever for Louisa and Max

After a breakfast of hot cross buns and hot chocolate, they bustled off to Max's room and after a while this sign appeared on the door.

(Which being translated reads: Come in and see puppet show called The Awesome Puppet in Max's Room. Please put some sweet food in the yellow box (some ideas - whipped cream, chocolate slice etc.))

So I left an offering of chocolate slice and whipped cream and was duly admitted for two puppet shows.

Then they played dreidle, cooked, read and knitted/crocheted.

Since then we have been making an effort - to have more quiet together time at the end of day and to read more and generally cocoon at night.

We have re-read The Mozart Question - one of our absolute favourites - and listened to Vivaldi's Winter movement because the little boy in the book plays it. Now we are onto Toby Alone and Jesse is reading book 3 of The Rangers Apprentice at night.

Max starts in the lounge room with me reading, then goes to the girls room where Jesse reads Rangers Apprentice, then into his own bed where Roger or I read Book of Mormon stories, and then, when he is home, Tom goes in and reads Redwall. It is a full night.

Some people say Queensland doesn't have seasons - but it has just enough for us. Jesse says it smells like Easter - fresh, cool and autumny. We can tell that winter is coming and it's time to tuck ourselves inside and make the most of short days and crisp nights. Time for Easter eggs and Easter books, time for hot chocolate, general conference, school holidays and trying again with the garden.

School

Louisa almost made it through a whole week at school this week. She only had Tuesday off - and Wednesday afternoon - and that's an improvement! Tuesday she left her shoes in Roger's car and needed them for TAD and science lab - and Wednesday afternoon is sport so it hardly counts.

The week before she had one day off and two afternoons off - an improvement on the previous week when she had four afternoons off. But she has the student services ladies right where she needs them and they make up excuses for her.

The days start out ok but then part way through the day she just starts 'thinking that not much is going on' at school and she'd rather be 'with you Mum'. And so she phones, and then she cries, and then I go and collect her.

Once it was because some boys were throwing spit balls - which is a good reason to leave - another time she felt like going grocery shopping with me and nothing much was happening anyway - another time she had a ringworm. That was her favourite day.

We had just finished a discussion about the need to make it through the day when I looked down and spotted it on her leg - and presto - a day off school. Louisa says she loves ringworms - you are not sick but you still can't go to school.

Joan remembered Warren going to school for quite some weeks with a sling around his arm and spinning a line to the teacher about a broken wrist. It all went well till the teacher met Grandma down town and empathetically worried about how long Warren's arm was taking to heal. Jesse remembers hearing that story when she and Alec were little and giving it a go at Pine - it didn't work then either.

All in all Louisa is happy at school - she just thinks it is an enormous waste of her day when there is so much more that is interesting to do. And anyway she says that her attention span goes like this:

sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down - so she doesn't really hear it all anyway.

Max had his first rock climbing day - he has found his calling!

Jesse is loving her lectures - Tom too - he is swimming around in Hamlet and having fun.

Peet is applying for a traineeship in radio journalism - we hope he gets it - but it is with the indigenous radio station - so we'll see.

So all in all the reviews for School 2010 are mixed so far.

One more photo

Too gorgeous for words actually!

The Jackson Place

We found a picture of a house with a sod roof - very upmarket and expensive - but it reminded Lee:

When they lived on the Jackson Place in Canada they had a little house with a sod roof - the trouble was that there was a hole in the ceiling - and rats moved in. So the boys helpfully built a rat trap. Which was fine - except that Grandma Walker's brother and his wife (who Ruth never did like much) came for a visit. Visiting the poor country cousins was how Lee remembers it. And in the middle of lunch, and right over the table a rat got caught in the trap and dangled over the table. Poor Grandma - she was not happy. I feel for her.

They moved there without any money but with enough to get them through - almost - till they made some money from hay that Grandad was growing. They grew a garden and Grandad shot some deer and they would almost make but not quite. Then Aunt Mary sent Lee and Wayne each a silver dollar. So Grandma took the silver dollars and went to town and bought $2 worth of sugar - which was quite a lot of sugar - and canned heaps of heaps of apricots and peaches that were so abundant they were free. And things started looking up again. Hooray for Aunt Mary.

As Lee said 'funny how you live.'

Ducks and Pigs

Jesse was icing cupcakes with Louisa and Max when she knocked a glass off the kitchen bench - but it was caught in a tablecloth and didn't hit the floor.

Louisa said 'Jesse, you are as lucky as a duck that didn't get its head cut off.' Which I suppose is true.

Then the icing got started and Max said 'I'm going to be as generous as a pig with this icing.' And Louisa nodded and replied "Pigs are very generous animals.' I didn't know that but Jesse says it must be true because Max was very generous with the icing.