More cleaning. Preparing tins of baking to give teachers etc. Climbing the laundry mountain.
Nick went to Jack’s Christmas pageant – I couldn’t go as there was no way to be back in time to collect Katie. I had hastily wrapped tins of baking for Jack’s teacher and teaching assistant, and for Sylvia (who runs the school office) and Steve (the caretaker). Jack was the school’s first pupil – one of only two attending in the first week – and they literally finished building it around him. As a result, all the staff adore him and Sylvia and Steve are particularly devoted. As this will be his last Christmas at the school, I wanted to make a bit more of a fuss.
In the afternoon I got the rest of the tins of baking wrapped up and cards written, and prepared the mulled wine kits for the teachers who drink. I printed out copies of Jamie Oliver’s mulled wine recipe and prepared little bags containing all the necessary spices: a cinnamon stick, a whole nutmeg, a couple of star anise, and some cloves, and tied the recipe and a bag of spices to the neck of each bottle of red wine.
The glacial cleaner is back on deck today and, since it is beyond frustrating to be in the same room with her, I had a range of alternatives planned to stay out of her way. In the end, I didn’t do any of them. The midden that is Jack’s bedroom had reached the stage where I could ignore it no longer… I gritted my teeth and started to tidy. Four hours later, I realised that I just had time to shower the smell of 15 year old boy’s room off my body before it was time to collect Katie from school.
So a bit of a dull day – except for a totally wonderful early Christmas present. A dear friend, who has been waiting for a new kidney since before Jack was born, texted this morning to say that he had a successful transplant op on Saturday and his recovery is going well. Such wonderful news. I would love to visit him but I have a very slightly runny nose and would never forgive myself if I jeopardised his recovery.
It was only when the doorbell rang at 0930 that I remembered I was meant to have Kate dressed and ready to go to the cinema with Elias and his father. When I explained that I had completely forgotten and would need a few minutes to get Katie ready, Elias and Tomi said that they would go to collect Sam and then come back for Katie. She washed her face and got her clothes on while I made her breakfast, then she scarfed down a toasted hot cross bunand a glass of milk while I brushed her hair. Together we had her ready and waiting at the gate by the time they returned.
After the boys had finished breakfast, I cleaned the kitchen and then began the production of industrial quantities of spice biscuits to supplement the shortbread made (on Thursday) to give away to the 7 teachers and teaching assistants, and sundry others who require gifts at this time of year. I was just rolling out the very last of the mixture when Katie arrived home nearly six hours later. The doorbell rang and there were Katie, Sam and Elias – with poor Tomi struggling down the road way behind, looking utterly knackered. At that point I, quite by accident, managed the perfect domestic goddess moment. The house was full of the scent of around a hundred freshly-baked spice biscuits, and there am I, in (I kid you not) my best pinny with the roses on it, with just enough mixture left for the children to have a little roll and stamp out a biscuit each. At which point I hear Sam whisper to Elias, ‘Wow, Katie’s got a nice mummy.’ Aww, give that kid a biscuit!
Tomi eventually staggered in and declared, all wide-eyed, that the biscuits were just exactly like the ones they have at home in Finland. Aww, just like mother used to make! The kids demolished a huge pile of biscuits and then hurtled out to the garden to run off some of the sweets they ate at the cinema. I made Tomi a cup of strong tea and he confessed that he really had no idea how exhausting it was going to be taking 5 seven year olds to the cinema. He said Katie had behaved beautifully throughout but the boys had been pretty extreme. Apparently he left the film at one point to go to the loo and, when he came back, the people in the row in front complained that Sam had been swearing and throwing popcorn at them! Yet to look at wee Sam, you really would think that butter wouldn’t melt…
Is it normal for freesias to be blooming in mid-December?
Nick took morning shift and I had a lovely sleep in – the electric blanket really makes a difference. Katie returned from her sleepover very happy and lively. The highlight of the evening was the night-time walk through the school’s small patch of forest, culminating in toasting marshmallows over a bonfire. The scandal was that Sam (a tiny child with the face of an angel, but allegedly the naughtiest child in year 3) took his onesie off and displayed his three piece suite to the assembled company. Katie, who was looking in the wrong direction (poor child takes after her mother!), would have missed the entire incident if she hadn’t heard the deputy head shouting “SAM, PUT YOUR ONESIE BACK ON RIGHT NOW AND DON’T YOU DARE TAKE IT OFF AGAIN’.
I joked with Nick that, in a few years, the parents would no doubt be wanting to send the children to sleepovers sewn into their onesies! And of course that made me remember the Knight in Rusty Armour (Every suit of armour ever made/ has a chink/ chainmail pants with a missing link.). I was astonished that Nick had never heard of it – I guess it is the difference between being the oldest (and growing up in a small town with only the National Programme), and having lots of older siblings playing their records in the background.
Finished packing for Katie’s sleepover (having had to wash and dry her robe and slanket) ending up with an unfeasibly huge and heavy amount of luggage for one small child to be away from home for 17.5 hours. Cleaned the kitchen before embarking on production of near-industrial quantities of shortbread. Filled six tins to give away, replenished the tin in the freezer that I had bandicooted in desperation to produce a present for the guitar teacher, and left a dozen or so pieces out to mollify the family.
At 5:30 I went to collect Katie from after-school club and took her out for pasta before dropping her, and her mountain of luggage, at the school sleep over. The large hall was a mass of excited 7 year olds and the entire stage was covered in luggage, with many parents hauling even bigger bags than Katie’s.
A whisky and honey hot toddy, radio 4, a huge pile of Christmas cards…
A little ego-boost for Katie when Elias’s Dad called last night to say that Elias had made it very clear that he preferred to come to Katie’s house, so could we go back to the original arrangement? I said fine and duly collected Katie and Elias from school. I think Elias must be missing his mum (who is in India, working with impoverished children) because, while Katie holds my hand only to cross the road, the little Moomin Troll clutched it all the way home.
Another really beautiful golden sunset on the way home from school. Home just in time to meet the bus bringing my precious Dashi home from camp. He had a good time and raved about doing archery, and going on zip wires and high level rope walks. He told us that Jordan, the boy he was sharing with, had ‘some bad times’ and was a bit tearful, missing his parents, and also reported, somewhat astonished, that Jordan couldn’t get to sleep with the light off! I explained to Dash that lots of people are a bit scared of the dark but he plainly still considered it bizarre.
I made a huge pot of pasta for Katie and Elias – pesto for her, ham and cheese for him and took it through to the living room for them (since Elias is a bit frightened of the dog). I then thought Elias’ pasta smelled so good that I boiled up the pasta post again and made myself some but I had barely got the first forkful to my mouth when Katie came in and said that she needed another half-bowl of pasta and Elias needed a big bowl. So I put the pasta pot back on the hob again… By the time Katie and Elias had devoured their second helping of pasta, it was time to head for trampolining. The kids had a great time. Elias’ Dad had originally been meant to pick Elias up from trampolining at 7pm but had asked if I could take Elias home again and he would pick him up about 7:30pm. We headed home and K & E were keen to get their ice creams immediately in case Elias’ Dad arrived early … Unfortunately their concerns were groundless – as he didn’t finally arrive until about 8:45. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I’d known in advance – when it got to bath time I would have just parked Elias with a book or a DVD and sooled Katie into the bath, but when I think someone is going to arrive any minute, I am more inclined to just let things slide a bit…
Started unpacking Dashi’s suitcase, while at the same time packing Katie’s stuff for a sleepover in the school hall tomorrow night. Dash’s camp must have been damn cold: I thought a pair of trousers was missing when I started unpacking but it turned out he was wearing two pairs at once and had clearly been doubling up like this the whole time he was away, as the worn clothes were all one inside the other!
Fighting the chaos, climbing the laundry mountain… Katie’s teacher phoned yesterday to ask for a meeting to discuss ‘how she is in class’ (bored stiff mostly by the sound of it) and we agreed to meet this afternoon but I arrived at school to find that Mrs Lucas was off sick. Very annoying.
Saw Elias’s Daddy at the school gate and casually mentioned that I would be picking Elias up from school tomorrow and taking him to trampoline as arranged with Siniqua. Unfortunately it seems he had forgotten about this arrangement and had arranged for Lena to have Elias. Katie very disappointed.
A day of fighting the chaos, sorting, putting away – even got back onto purging the damned filing cabinet, Probably would have been more productive if I hadn’t stayed up until 3am last night working on the jigsaw!
Missing Dashi – very strange not having him around.
The cleaner called in sick, so the place is a bit dishevelled, but I resisted the temptation to clean up and focussed instead on sorting out and wrapping up the children’s Christmas presents. About 80% done.
It felt like old times setting up a jigsaw table in the living room – 1000 pieces – first serious jigsaw I have attempted since 1989/90, when Nick and I took 18 months to complete a 5000 piece of Breughel’s painting of a village fair!
Katie’s last day of Stagecoach, then straight on to the Christmas fair at Katie’s school. Unlike her friends Katie has little interest in buying things at the fair – other than perhaps a cup-cake or a gingerbread Christmas tree – it is the craft activities she is into. Today she made a felt mouse with a candy cane tail for hanging on the Christmas tree and various other cards and decorations. We eventually found Arina and her mum at the mulled wine stall and Lena persuaded me that we’d better have one, you know, purely to raise money for the school!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Nick had taken the boys and Sherlock to choose a Christmas tree. We all arrived back home just before 4pm – just in time to meet a prospective new borrower for Sherlock. We instantly liked her and it turns out that she literally lives just a few houses down our street (at number 32). She took Sherlock up to the heath for a ‘getting-to-know-you’ walk. So, after a five mile walk with Tudor yesterday, he has now had three decent walks today – but he still seems to be literally bounding with energy.
Spent the evening organising a very long list of clothing and equipment ready for Dash to go on a school camp tomorrow.
