Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Fathers' Day and all the other bits around it.

I've had one of those weeks where I've done quite a lot but I'm not sure what to say about it. But according to Nell I should be posting 3 times a week, and there are no children rattling round the house demanding attention or nutrition, so I am starting the typing in the hope that I can write something entertaining. Or at least coherent.

We had a Grandparents' Day at school last week and up till the last minute I was unsure as to whether we could manage to produce a grandparent for the Climber. My father has a mammoth work schedule and is therefore not reliably available. My mother usually lives in Sydney (when she is not flitting off on Italian sojourns) so no hope there, and Fixit's parents have had their hands full managing Fixit's mother's near-death experience with a dangerously blocked bile-duct (I think; there was a whacking great gall-stone in a vital tube which meant no bile could drain out so she was practically poisoning herself but as ever I am vague on actual details. Anyway. She is much better now thank goodness, and no-one told them till afterwards how close a call she had). In the end, my Dad did make it for us and was only slightly late, so we had a good time interviewing him about the Olden Days. The kids had questions about where we went to school etc and my memory was severely tested trying to recall the name of my Grade One teacher. I answered "Mrs Martin" for Climber's benefit but she could just as easily have been my Grade 2 teacher in which case I'm stumped. Straw poll: Can you remember the name of YOUR First Grade Teacher? I know my Dad couldn't. The closest he could get was that she was definitely a Nun, so he told Climber her first name was "Sister".

On Friday I had a friendly lunch time gossip with fellow bloggers House&Baby and Adventures of Teacup over at Aunty Cookie's place. Lots of small people playing in the lounge room while Jo and I took turns cuddling Baby Sadie and the talk skittered through night-sweats, Owen Wilson, tap-students and obstetricians, while Shannon fed us the nicest lunch I've had in quite a while; scrummy gourmet rolls. Not that it takes much to top toast-n-vegemite, but still. It was a bloody nice lunch.

On Saturday I had a massive day, starting with early morning chiropractor session and teaching the Kiddy Tap Classes, followed by lunch, then an hour-long drive to a friend's tap school where I taught for 2 hours before driving home for another hour, then dinner/bath/bed for the kids after which Fixit and I went out to the 'burbs for his brother's 40th birthday party and Nell babysat. Ma & Pa Fixit were at the party, and Fixit's brother nearly started sobbing during his speech when he went to say how much he loved his Mum. He's a Big Man, 6-foot-4 and S-O-L-I-D but he's the biggest softie you've ever met.

And Sunday being Fathers' Day, we started with pancakes for brunch, then with Nell in tow (in the front seat actually, she was whingeing about a sore back) we drove for ages...

... out to Healesville to get lost in the Hedgend Maze. Which was quite a lot of fun, but don't order coffee if you go there. Just saying. The hedge maze took at least an hour to navigate and Cherub got too tired after a while so he and I bailed to the observation tower and tried to steer the others out via mobile phone. Not that easy actually, because the tower wasn't really high enough to show the gaps. Eventually Fixit, Nell and Climber emerged triumphant. Most of the photos are on Nell's camera and will be put on my Flickr site at a later date. But this is one from my phone-cam.

A good time was had by all.

19 comments:

  1. 1st grade teacher: Mrs. Eggbert. Or maybe it was Mrs. Egbert. Either way, it was quite a name.

    You're always entertaining and coherent; no worries there. Glad Mrs. Fixit Senior survived the gallstone!

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  2. Indeed a busy week.

    My first grade teacher was Mrs McKenny. She lived on a neighbouring farm and her daughter used to be on the same bus. She (the daughter) would help me off the school bus and walk me to class. I needed help to get on/off the bus because I was so small I couldn't actually climb onto the first step by myself.

    I remember my first day at school. I wore a lovely blue gingham smocked dress and wore a badge with animals and my name on it. I sat on the mat right near Mrs McKenny's feet. There are no photos of my first day so I'm pretty sure these are genuine memories.

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  3. I can't remember the name of my grade 1 teacher, but I do remember the name of my prep teacher, Miss Doyle. I'm pretty sure my grade one teacher was a nun too, though, so I'm going with sister as well.

    In the small world stakes, in my non-internet life I actually know your tap dance school owning friend...

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  4. No idea who my teacher was in any grade until late primary school. We moved so frequently during those years that I have lost those memories.

    You are a busy girl! I'm surprised you find the time to blog. Why is three times per week the magical target?

    I love the photo of your dad and climber. It is beautiful.

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  5. My first teacher was a Miss Lardie, who we all thought was beautiful. Looking back at the photos, she wore the shortest mini-dresses imaginable.

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  6. My first grade teacher and subsequently my third grade teacher were the same amazingly tender hearted Mrs Barnes . We thought she was ancient (she must have been near retirement) and she used to hand out jelly beans as rewards. She had a dunces cap that she used to make the naughty children wear and have them stand in a corner and one day she forgot about one of the naughty kids and left him there the whole of big lunch and was so overwhelmed with guilt that she deluged him with jelly beans. If the dunces hat sounds mean it needs to be remembered this was in the days of active punishement with cane/wooden ruler - so the dunces hat was positively benevolent.

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  7. I can't remember my first grade teacher's name, so she can't have made much of an impact because I do remember my kindy (prep to vics) teacher - Mrs Harris, and my two 2nd grade teachers - Mrs Brazier & Mrs Schmich (we moved)

    Tracey - three is the magic number because I'd really like a post every day but I'm being realistic.

    Stomper Girl, Mr Fixit, Climber & Cherub - thanks for a lovely day on Sunday...and I really do have a sore back - still

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  8. draws breath.... I feel busy just reading that! Can't remember any of my teachers names, I can see some of their faces but can't remember names. How bad is that?

    your blogging lunch sounds lovely, I like to think of these networks criss cossing town.

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  9. Mrs. Beers. Honest!

    And she had lovely soft long hair and read out loud a lot. The end.

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  10. Riiiiiiiiigggggghhhhhhtttt. Nell has a *sore back*.... probably the result of the frenchman's stay. ;)

    My first grade teacher was Mrs. Kennedy and I loved her. I remember when we first started school, the older kids in the 4th grade (age 9 or so) told us that the Principal (headmaster) had an electric paddle in his office and if you got in enough trouble, he would "light you up". To show how good we were, we didn't figure out the truth until grade 3. No electric paddle. But those first three years, we would all gasp and say "ooooooooo" when someone got sent to the Principal for discipline.

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  11. My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Bonus and she wore her iron grey hair screwed into a most sever bun and she never smiled. Not once. She was awful. Not as awful as my second grade teacher, Sister Joanne (I was sent off to the nuns starting in second grade), who told me, at the tender age of 6, that I was going to hell because I'd never been baptized. Nice, huh? And people wonder why I have issues with religion....

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  12. Nice catch up post, I am quite breathless! You had a weekend like mine, and one I am struggling to find time to blog about, although I'm going to have to!

    Kindergarten teacher was Mrs Kutz, First class teacher was Mrs Smith. I loved my kindy teacher, she was the reason I loved going to school so much.

    I loved Mrs Smith too, and about halfway through the year, she died in a car accident. I still remember standing in assembly for a one minute's silence, and they played the music "Eye Level" in her memory.

    Some memories never leave you, I was only six then!

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  13. Miss Stocks. I cried and cried when she wasn't my teacher the next year. She had thick blonde long wavy hair. Once she laughed at one of my stories, I remember feeling so so hurt, but I still loved her.

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  14. that maze look sreally cool. I barely scrape together enough time to post once a week - maybe I need to re address my commitment issues!!! Great catching up x

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  15. Miss Chambers.

    But she got married and turned into Mrs Something.

    I can't believe I can remember that.

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  16. Cool, I love mazes. The last one we visited had very tall hedges [couldn't see over the top] We were in there a very long time.
    Best wishes

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  17. Miss Patterson. A legend in the town, dont think she ever forgot a name!
    Your posts are always entertaining!
    Nice weekend.

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  18. What a great few days for you! The maze sounds like such fun. And how lovely of your dad to go to grandparents day.

    Mrs MacDonald in kindy (loved her), Mrs Smoker in first (hated her, plus she stank of cigarettes. No kidding).

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  19. Very busy lady you are Stomper. Loved your Father's Day escapade!

    And I astound myself but I think my 1st grade teacher was Mrs Ewan. I remember her as being old and stern. She was probably only in her 30's or 40's - old to me then NOT now!

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Don't let the cat get your tongue.