Chilly overnight

Springy had a Scout Chilly Camp last night.  It's the first time she's stayed away from home without a family member with her (she's only stayed at her grandparents before).  She was very confident about staying over and I made sure that she felt that she could say no to going.  Anyway she seems to have had a fairly good time although she's very tired today.

She's now back and playing with her guineapig.  I'm trying to sort her bedroom out but it's got so much clutter plus the guineapigs are now living in her room too!

Martha - our new guineapig

Today was our dog Lily's birthday and we also got Springy an early birthday present. She is a little 12-week old guineapig and her name is Martha.  She is gorgeous and reminds us a bit of Sarah. Rose and Martha seem to be getting on well.

Today our beautiful Sarah guineapig passed away. Springy and I both keeping crying because we will miss her very much. I knew last night that today would be her last and she went this morning. We've buried her in the front garden under the comfrey and by the roses. Our other guineapig Rose is going to need a lot more cuddles now that she on her own without her sister.

What a morning!

Today was a rather stressful morning. I'm not coping well with stress at the moment due to all the financial pressures that are going on. I had a plan this morning to do some of the Letts Magical Maths and Funny Spelling books that Springy really likes. So we went out to let the hens and guineapigs out because the weather was so nice but...the combination lock on the shed wouldn't open. Aaarghhh!

The combination lock, I figured would be better than one with a key because we'd probably lose the key. However, I didn't realise last night when I was locking it that the code had been tweaked whilst it was off. I went through 000 to 999 on the combination - took several hours. None of them worked. Phoned a locksmith - "Sometimes that happens with the combination locks - if one of the barrels was slightly off the actual number then it can be really difficult to make it work. Again...aaarrrghhhh! So I can hear the chickens and guineapigs - they make buck buck and squeaky whine noises because they think they are going to be let out to have a run and/or get some interesting food. I felt so useless. I then decided to dismantle the metal parts on the shed door - screwdrivers out. That didn't work either because of the metal piece that was blocking the opening side of the door. Aarrghhh!

C had to run off to fetch his cousin from the train station. She's really nice so that was a good part of today. When he got back he managed to remove the entire metal lock piece with the combination padlock still attached to it. So now we have a shed door which we can open but we can't lock. Aaarrrhghhhh!

Anyway, the hens and piggies both had a lovely time out on the lawn. Springy and I then managed to do some of the Funny Phonics and Spelling book. I really think phonics should be used only in cases of remediation or to back up those already reading. To me reading needs to come from the child, when they are ready and not be dictated by Government. Yes, provide opportunities but reading comes out of play, eye tracking, phonemic awareness and so on and best of all the child should enjoy it.

It's May

I was really ill last night. I have a cold and as the evening went on my ear got worse and worse. As a child I used to have lots of earache and would be dosed up on antibiotics (I'm now allergic to most antibiotics). It took me back. I used to scream and cry. Last night I cried and cried because the pain was so unbearable. My husband gave me some paracetamol and Ibuprofen to counteract it but neither worked (my limbs felt great though). In the end I went downstairs (dizzy as well) and crushed some garlic and stuck that in my ear. I felt it start to work - it burns but garlic has antimicrobial and anti-viral properties. My husband helped with some olive oil in my ear (took the edge off the garlic) and this morning I'm feeling loads better.

Anyway, the last few days we have been reading chapters from The Dolls House by Rumer Godden. We've been feeding the ducks who beg at our door for bread. Springy and C went on a bike ride yesterday afternoon whilst I did some work. We went shopping several times yesterday and this past week I knitted my daughter a guineapig.

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