What I Would Like To Write About If I Had Time

The Hen Night.
The Wedding.
The recent visit of an old friend from Teacher's College.
The two day course on Maths I have just done.
The overlockers I have bids on.
My sick husband (it's like sleeping with a combine harvester...all that tossing and turning).
The school fees for the Baby Angel's new school for next year :-(
My wonderful Mum and Dad who are helping out with the above.
The heat................
Work.
Year 11s leaving this week.
Exams. Reports. Marking.
Marking
Marking
Being made chairperson of the Industrial Relations Committee hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Missing In Action

I admit it. I've kind of been living at ebay and facebook lately! I don't know what's the matter with me; I don't feel like writing. Maybe it's the weather? Over 37c again today and forecast to last til Saturday!! :-(

I'm currently in the market for an overlocker (serger for you US types). I lost out on one the night before the big wedding because I was so busy sewing the BA's dress that I forgot to check on the auction progress. I've got a lot to learn about this ebay thing. Turns out that one didn't do rolled hems which are apparently a big plus and certainly would have been a good thing on the BA's dress (I felt the hem I had painstakingly hand sewn looked neat but heavy; rolled may have been better) so maybe it was for the best.

I've tried to do a little research on the various brands but there's remarkably few user reviews. It's also tricky to find out whether the second hand machines on ebay do the rolled hem and whether they have an automatic setting or need a cumbersome needle and plate change. Predictably, companies are more keen to tell you about their current models.

There's a Janome Mylock 654D (I think) going and I'm in the running but I'm trying to decide whether to go over the Au $150.00 mark. Postage has to be considered as well. Does anyone know this machine and whether it's worth it?

Aside from that I had a very interesting weekend catching up with a friend from Teacher's College whom I hadn't seen for 20 years! She had tried to find me some years ago, phoning everyone in Sydney with my maiden name and asking if I lived there. I was deeply touched. Finally she found me on 'friends reunited' which lists people against their schools and training or tertiary institutions. I signed up for that site in 2000 and am still listed under my maiden name.

I picked her up from the airport on Friday night and we had a wonderful catch-up at the BA's netball match (they won and she played VERY well). Unfortunately, with a sleepy BA on my hands I had to drop her at her accommodation that night and meet up again the next morning.

Boy we can talk!

We talked all through the morning, all through lunch (Italian), all through my drive by tour of the city, scenic trip through the hills to my place, tour of the house, drive back to the city, pre dinner drinks, dinner (Thai) and nightcap. By 11.30pm my eyes were rolling in my head but I attempted to continue carrying on a conversation, surrendering only when I started talking about staircases in my sleep whilst sitting upright at the table!

I camped responsibly over on her couch and then took her to the airport in the morning, after MORE talking.

Well, we had a lot to catch up on :-D

Back to school today and I'm on a course about Numeracy Support for two days. So far it has been quite interesting and challenging. Much of the basic stuff I am familiar with but the challenge is how to apply it to disenfranchised teenage learners.

And just because I have been lazy of late and because you haven't heard much from my classroom babies, try these little beauties from the recent Y8 test on Co-ordinate Geometry and Line Graphs.

A graph is presented showing the weight and length of puppies on the y and x axes respectively. Pupils are asked to order the puppies according to length and then to order them according to weight. Surprise, surprise the order is different. The final question asks:
" Is it true that longer puppies are always heavier? Give a reason for your answer."

Here are some of the responses:

" No because it says Spot 's length is long but he ways (sic) the least of all of the dogs.
I had a dog really short but he weighs a lot."

"Not all the time and it depends what dog it is."

"No because Oscar is the heaviest dog and he is not the longest." (errrrr yes he is.....)

"If a puppy is longer than another it's going to be heavier because it has more fat and skin and bones."

*sigh*

Now I'm off to mark the Year 10 Taxation and Depreciation/Interest tests.

Wish me luck............

Brightly Dawned Her Wedding Day

After about ten years solo, my Bestie has finally tied the knot with The Amazing Mumford.

Sunday afternoon saw us arriving in the parklands under a savage 36C sunapproaching the vine covered gazebo and witnessing their exchange of vows.


Afterwards we retired to a local hotel for a cocktail reception. That's all I have time for tonight. More juicy details to follow when I am back on en even keel.

Crafty Tuesday errrr....Thursday.....errrrrrrrrr Friday?

Having been laid low by a very nasty cold type flu virus thing for the last week, I have been pretty light-on the posting front I'm afraid. I had half a day off last Tuesday, then went back to work to share my germs around (I'm thoughtful like that), and predictably collapsed in a heap on Thursday and had Friday and Monday off with a miserable weekend in between. Yesterday back at school I actually felt semi-normal in the morning but by lunchtime was wilting and by 3pm was reduced to a sleep on the staff room sofa. With groaning. I hate it when you can't breathe with your mouth closed.

But I digress.

As a result of all this, and my general busy-ness, I missed Crafty Tuesday and I did have something I wanted to share so here it is. The Baby Angel's partly completed bridesmaidy wedding dress thingy. As you can tell I am having difficulty deciding what to call it as the BA is not a bridesmaid 'as such'. She is actually the dog wrangler.

Have I explained this before? I think I have. When The Bestie hooked up with Mumford, his only true love was a little chihuahuaxJackRussellxfox terrier called (to Blogland) Q. Of course he has had to make room in his heart for my Bestie and so little Q has been somewhat sidelined but not enough to be omitted from the wedding ceremony this Sunday. She will be the ring bearer.
Now as any good thespian knows, when you have animals peforming on set you must have a 'wrangler' on hand to ensure their safety and that they get enough schooling and are sent home to bed before 10pm and so forth (or is that children? ...meh, same difference). Q's main task is to walk down the 'aisle' (it's an outdoor wedding) and stand with the wedding party until the rings are called for, at which time she must sit up like a meerkat whilst The BA disengages the rings from her collar. There is even a special velcro device for the purpose!

Himself is disgusted by the whole idea. Even the BA is mildly embarrassed by the notion but she wanted a role in the wedding and this is what was on offer. It must be said she is not too proud to stoop to dog wrangling in order to get to wear a pretty dress! Which brings me to the dress.

You see it above, semi finished, hanging in the doorway. I still have to add cap sleeves in lace, motifs around the bodice/skirt seam, finishing the lining at the back and hand sew the full circle hem. Plenty of time. The wedding's on Sunday.

In Which I Deliberately Thwart My Husband

Himself: My trackies have been in the laundry abyss for four weeks now! I have been completely
unable to find them.

Me: There is no way they have been missing for four weeks...two maybe...have you checked the..?

Himself: I've checked EVERYWHERE!!! I've even been through the laundry basket. They have
completely DISAPPEARED!!

Me: Alright, I will look for them but I can guarantee you they have NOT disappeared and they haven't been 'missing' for four weeks. Now, let's have a look here (opens a drawer) no? ok well how about here? (no luck) They're bound to be here somewhere.

Himself: Ah HAH! Ah HAH! You SEE? I TOLD you they were nowhere to be found!!! I've looked in all those places.

Me: (giving up on all the drawers/shelves etc and starting on the laundry hamper) Well, I haven't been deliberately hiding them, they're bound to be here...

Himself: (triumphantly) FOUR weeks! That's how long they've been missing! I haven't seen them in FOUR weeks.

Me: (starting to lose my good humour) Well, I washed last weekend so they couldn't have been missing all that long, unless they are hanging out in the family room....

(I start to march off down the hall to check the usual location for drying things indoors in the wet weather)

Himself: (hot on my heels) I've actually LOOKED down here and I couldn't find anything.*

Me: (gets to room; looks briefly around;takes trackies off the back of a chair. The first chair in the room. Not hidden by anything. Says nothing)

Himself: (momentarily stunned) Well they must have been there for four weeks....

Me: One. At the most.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Note: this in itself is something of a miracle. Piles of Himself's neatly folded laundry have been known to sit down in the family room for weeks while he squeals for clean underwear.

Theme Thursday: At Play

To continue in a nostalgic vein, here are my Baby Angel and her cousin 'At Play' at Grandma's house in 2002. I think the BA was 7 and her cousin Ginger was 3.

I can hear them shrieking with giggles as I look at this.

Thinking back, play often involved getting under blankets and into make believe' beds'.

Sometimes the bed was a trampoline.

( Augh! I cannot believe I could not find any pictures of her in her trampoline bed.)

Sometimes the bed was a boxAnd sometimes it was a suitcase.
Megan at A Mental Inventory is hosting Theme Thursday for the time being while AmyJo does that new baby thing. Pop over and see what other Play-ful shots people are sharing.

Clouded By The Mists of Time...and mood enhancing substances.

My husband isn't talking to me.

I didn't believe him you see. I scoffed at his memory; a cardinal crime.

He claimed that when he was at school, they had dances, formal dances, which went until 2am. Apparently there were two bands and the younger students were sent home after the first band.....but really! 2 am???? What teacher would stay at a school dance til 2am????
His retort was that they had 'very good bands'.

So, my anally retentive antenna is out (ooo-eer). All you Adelaideloodians, does anyone remember the boys' school on South Terrace having formals that went until 2 in the morning????????? Puh-lease. Does anyone remember ANY of the private schools having formals that went beyond mid-night? Granted, his era was slightly before mine, but surely things were not 'free-er' in his day than mine????? We are talking 1973-4 bythe way.

At my old school (soon to be the Baby Angel's school) we had very strict policies about our few dances. I have posted about it before: letters to leave early, stay inside the building, no patent leather shoes*...that sort of thing.

Now when we got to uni; that was a different matter! The infamous O Ball where many a fresher saw their first sunrise, was renowned. Prosh Week, the Law School Pub Crawl, all these were debauched affaires with no boundaries as by that time we were all technically 'adults'; but school dances? Til 2am????????????

I think not.

However, I am happy to be proven wrong. Do some research guys and gals; Prof J?
Cash Mc Buck? Headbang? Kindergarten Friend? Middle Sis? (she always knew where the good parties were)...........

Seriously.

2am??????


* Apparently patent leather shoes enabled boys to see your underwear reflected on their highly polished surface.