rainbow

Yesterday as i was driving Bam to Home Ed group we saw a glorious rainbow. We live in the fens, but on the edge of them and we were on a road approaching where the Wolds begin. So in front of us we could see the scenery rising up, a church on the hill and houses here and there. And suddenly i noticed the edge of a rainbow and as we travelled along the road it grew until eventually there was a whole rainbow framing the view of the Wolds rising up behind them. What a glorious thing to share with my son...........

the earth turns

I went to collect Bam from his dad's today......his dad mentioned something he had said the other day. It was along these lines......

'Daddy,if i was on the moon, and if the moon is spinning.....if i walk very fast will i stay in the same place?'

Then in the car on the way home

'Mummy......on the opposite side of the world, when we have the sun they have the moon. It's light here and dark there'

On a Monday before i take Bam back to his dad's we go to a Home Ed group. We've been having a lady from a goverment funded music programme coming in. Bam has really enjoyed that, but he is immersed in music in both his homes and regularly makes up songs. This Monday just gone the group had a visit from a Morris Man. We all sat round in a circle and sang some songs, the children suggesting words and rhymes for the verses. They had a go at playing the accordian and the spoons, and then the older children learnt to do some Morris Dancing. Bam thoroughly enjoyed the whole session! Every day that goes by with him we are more convinced that our decision to Home Ed this bright, spirited young man is the right one.

This week for me has not been a good one. I've been full of cold (Oz took us to Home Ed on Monday because i was too ill to drive) and on Tuesday morning i managed to fall down the stairs. I ended up in A&E (courtesy of the Taxi of Mum and Dad) but x-rays show no serious injury and so i am sporting a somewhat tender behind (yes! i bounced down 5 steps on my bottom) and can almost laugh at it now.......

Stairs

The 'before'.......the original victorian stairs that went up the main bedroom. Oh we were really loathe to remove them, but they were just not safe. Partly because they were rickety (and when the plywood casing came off it was apparent they were more dangerous than we realised), and partly because they were more ladder than staircase and really quite difficult to negotiate. The top photo was taken standing halfway up.....you would enter the bedroom on your hands and knees! So we took the decision to have them replaced with a staircase that we can use. We employed a small local firm and had a proper wooden staircase fitted (none of your MDF nonsense). All old buildings have to evolve or they become uninhabitable, and we have tried to do this as sympathetically as possible.

And so here they are.....our new stairs. Looking a bit stark and 'new' in our old Victorian schoolhouse but i have beeswax ready to feed them and over time they will age and settle into the house. We are really happy with them, and the quality of work is fantastic.

My first attempt at a blog with photos!!

I'v edited this because i forgot to say.....we have kept all the wood from the old staircase and when we find a creative joiner/carpenter will be having it made into a table or storgae box. All the wood will be re-used in the house in some way.

a moment with nature and a childhood book

This morning i had one of those beautiful, unexpected moments that nature likes to send us now and then. I got up and as i passed the landing window i looked out of it, as i always do. It looks out from the back of the house, over the bit of overgrown scrub directly behind us and over the fields and to the houses in the distance. This morning it is wet outside, though not too cold and so there is a slight mist hanging low over the ground and that strange silence the countryside holds on such a morning.
This morning that view was different though. This morning there was a creature sat on the wall in the scrub. At first i thought it was a cat, which caught my eye because there are not many round here. But then i realised it was too big for a cat......and then i noticed the black tips to it's ears and the huge bushy tail as it moved to get a more comfortable footing. A FOX!! Oh what beauty, it was glowing in the half-light. It sat on the wall for ten minutes, it's ears turning to follow sounds.......it's nose lifting in the air catching a smell on the breeze. Then it gingerly felt it's way down the bramble that has grown over an old metal frame leaning against the wall.....and disappeared from view into the bramble patch.
And so to the childhood memory. I have noticed that a new film is coming out, and it is a stop animation of one of my favourite books from childhood. And what should this book be about? Oh but a fox. A fantastic fox. The Fantastic Mr Fox! I loved this story as i child, i read it over and over. And i was going to buy it for Bam for Christmas and a tiny part of me feels jealous that now this wonderful story which so few had heard of, and that felt like a little secret i could share with my son, is now going to be seen by the whole world. I should be happy though that so many more are now going to enjoy this story and i hope love it as much as I.

What a difference though between Mr Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox and my glowing morning companion.

new stairs and poorly children

So, after a week of banging and sawing and making lots of mess the joiners have got our new stairs in. When i figure it out i will post before and after pictures on here for you all to see (whoever 'you' are).

Oz has been away all week, and won't be back until Monday. I miss him so much....the little things like the hug when he gets in from work, and chatting in the kitchen while he cooks dinner. Bam is missing him too......

And talking of Bam, he didn't go to nursery today as he is full of cold and didn't feel upto it. So i collected him from his dad's a little earlier than usual, and we've had a lovely afternoon together including a dog walk. We went down by the drain and someone was fishing down there. I think maybe he was after peace and quiet but seemed more than happy to answer Bam's questions. Oh boy........do four year olds know how to ask questions. If you've seen the film Uncle Buck..........well the scene with John Candy, Macaulay Culkin and the string of questions should give you some idea of the scene by the water today *chuckle*
The swans were on the water this afternoon too.....with their wings spread up in the classic pose you always see in drawings. What a serene sight indeed, but anyone who's been up close to a swan will know just how BIG they really are....truly an animal to be respected in close proximity.

It is wonderful to see the changing landscape.....the colours as the season turns. I have taken it for granted for so many years, having always lived here....but now i am in some ways seeing it afresh both as my son notices it with a childs eyes and as Oz see's it as a newcomer to the area.

in and how time flies

Well we moved into the house on the very last day of July. The weeks leading up to it were so stressful. Our solicitor messed up, the letting agent where we were leaving was being awkward (and that continued after we left, i will never rent again if i can help it), and we had holiday thrown into the mix too!!
It was left so late we couldn't get removals and had to do it ourselves in a van, with help from very good friends.

So here we are, and once again i have not blogged for ages though i hope for this to become more regular now i am settled in my own home and can find myself a routine.

We've had to put the kitchen on hold which was going to be our first project, to get a staircase replaced. Such a shame to have it removed as it is original to the property but it is too dangerous and steep to use, especially with a child in the house. They will start fitting the stairs on Monday.......

Well Oz will be in from work very soon. It is getting dark out and soon he will be leaving in the morning and getting home at night in total darkness. It always takes a while to get used to and somehow makes our evenings together seem so much shorter.

Autumn and her smells and feeling of 'something' in the air is well and truly here.

and more packing

ah it really is a loathsome task. I shall be glad to move and stay put this time. I've got to that dreadful stage where i have done all the 'easy' packing. If you've ever moved then you know what i mean. I have tried to be organised about what i put in each box but have got to that 'sling it in and sort it at the other end' state already. I feel like packing it that way is at least getting it packed, otherwise i am just going to sit and stare (and worry) about getting it done.

I'm also looking forward to being nearer to some friends and family. Sometimes my days feel long and it will be nice to be able to just nip out for coffee and some adult interaction for a couple of hours. I love my son more than i can ever say but talking about Star Wars and Dr Who has limited mileage!!